What is Your Pleasure, Sir?
by Carole
Summary: When several Preventors are gruesomely slain, Zechs Merquise and his partner, Chang Wufei, are sent after the killers, along with Duo Maxwell. But this is no ordinary case. 1 2x6 6 5 13x6 4x3/3x4 Nanashi '03 Best Crossover, Devil With An Angel's Face '02
1. Prologue : Oblivion

***  
Title: What is Your Pleasure, Sir?  
Author: Carole  
***  
  
Rating: R  
  
Pairings: 1+2x6 5+6 3x4/4x3 13x6  
  
Warnings: LIME shonen ai violence xover playing with canon  
  
Disclaimers: I own nothing, don't sue.  
  
Notes : I am taking the series and Endless Waltz as  
canon. Anything else is... flexible, very flexible. If  
this bugs you, you should probably avoid this story.  
  
Dedication: To Killaria, for everything.  
  
Summary : Zechs and his partner, Wufei, are sent to  
investigate the mysterious deaths of several Preventor  
agents. On the rebound from Heero's dissappearance,  
Duo turns to Zechs, but will love be enough to get  
them through all they have to face?  
  
  
  
Kudos to those of you who guess what the crossover is  
before chapter 3 :) If you can't, it doesn't matter  
much. All will be explained and nonGundam characters  
only have cameo appearances.  
  
  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
What is Your Pleasure, Sir?  
by Carole  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
***  
Prologue : Oblivion  
***  
  
Emptiness, the great, vast dark of space filled only  
with a smattering of stars; of planets; of people.   
  
\\Twist. Flash.\\   
  
Onward it drifted, spinning and catching the light of  
far off breaks in the void, a golden glimmer against  
the black of the eternal night surrounding it.   
  
\\Twist. Flash.\\  
  
It moved with the determination only the very stubborn  
or the inanimate could know.   
  
\\Twist. Flash.\\  
  
Onward into oblivion.  
  
***  
198 AC  
***  
  
His nose was running. John sniffled, scrunching it  
upward as his face took on a contorted grimace. Of all  
the times to catch a cold, it had to be now. He  
ignored his discomfort and continued to dig into the  
damaged crack in the hull.  
  
"How's it goin' out there, buddy?" The voice was  
gravelly with static over the comlink.  
  
John sniffed again, instinctively raising his hand to  
wipe his face, but instead met the casing of his suit.  
"Fine, JT. I think I've found the problem. Give me  
half an hour and I'll have this baby up and running  
again."  
  
The com crackled. "We'll get this shipment there on  
time. You do good work, Johnny. Guess that's why they  
pay us the big bucks."  
  
Didn't he wish. Since contact between the colonies had  
been re-established, there'd been a resurgence of  
trade between them. A profitable business, if you knew  
the right people, dangerous even if you did. John  
didn't. But hey, he just worked here. It was Jakes's  
ship. Let him worry about the money.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively, removing a burned  
out connector. **So that's the real problem. I have  
another of these here somewhere,** he thought, letting  
himself drift on his cable as he ruffled through the  
supplies on his belt.  
  
Grunting, he forced the new connector into place.  
"Jake, I think that's about got it. What's it  
reading?"  
  
"In the green."  
  
"Good, just let me patch this up. How pressed are we  
for time?"  
  
"We're still a bit ahead of schedule, but get it done  
quick. These aren't the safest parts of space. You've  
heard about the disappearances. Pirates and such."  
  
John nodded to himself. Someone else was profiting  
from the trade and he didn't want to be the next  
victim either. "Fine. I'll just do a rough patch. It  
should be fine for a colony landing. It's not like we  
need to get through atmosphere. I'll fix it up when we  
get there."  
  
"Right. Well, keep 'er coming."  
  
The spacer drifted himself over to some of his  
supplies, reaching for the welder when a flash of gold  
caught his eye.  
  
"JT?" He paused, then called the man again. "Jake?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are the scanners picking up anything?"  
  
There was a pause as the man in the cockpit checked  
over the equipment. "No, why?"  
  
"I see something."  
  
Again, silence.  
  
"Shit." A statement of cold finality. "A ship? Is it  
cloaked? Get back in here right now."  
  
"We can't fly like this. If something should hit the  
rupture..."  
  
"We're screwed. But, we're dead anyway if we're  
attacked. Our only hope is to burn out of here."  
  
Twist. Flash.  
  
"Jake?"  
  
"Johnny, what's taken you so long?"  
  
"That's not a ship, it's a box."  
  
"What!?!"  
  
"Probably just some garbage from an old satellite."  
  
"I can't believe you scared the shit out of me for  
some space junk."  
  
John shook his head. All this time out here was making  
them go loopy. "Sorry. I made a mistake. I'll just  
patch it up and we can get gone."  
  
"The sooner, the better."  
  
It was slow going, despite his words earlier. He  
pounded the right top corner down with frustration,  
sniffling as he did so. **Just stay there for a  
second, baby. Johnny's almost got you.** Then he could  
get back inside and get out of this wasteland, not to  
mention something to wipe his nose. A shape swam past  
his line of sight.  
  
"Aaah!"  
  
He could hear JT jump over the com and reassured him  
quickly. "Don't worry, it's nothing."  
  
"Didn't hit your hand again, did you?"  
  
"No, I'm fine."  
  
That was funny, he could have sworn it had been going  
in the other direction. **Must have misjudged with the  
lack of reference points.** The box was beautiful,  
gold designs shining on its surface. **Well, this old  
thing may be worth something. Hell, I'll just take it  
with me.** He reached up, grasping it in careful hands  
and tucked it in with his tools. After all, he needed  
all the help he could get. Sue was expecting a baby in  
two months.  
  
***  
Three weeks later  
***  
  
The door creaked open slowly, light reluctantly  
entering the room as shadows slithered out of its path  
like living things. Trained eyes took in the  
surroundings.  
  
One hand raised to his headset, Michael Ramsey,  
Preventor, spoke. "Clear, sir. This was the last room.  
It's empty. They've vanished again."  
  
"Okay, Mike. We're pulling out."  
  
Yet another dead end. The Preventor eyed the empty  
room one last time. Something shifted in the corner of  
his eye.  
  
"Wait. I think I see something."  
  
"We're coming, sit tight."  
  
He turned slowly towards the living shadow, training  
his gun for the expected danger. **Get here soon. I  
have a bad feeling about this.**  
  
"Michael, it's nice to see you son."  
  
The voice was absolutely familiar, but it was  
impossible. His father was dead ten years.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Over here, Michael." He couldn't help but look. Where  
there had been nothing before was a vaguely human  
shape.  
  
"Dad, is that you?"  
  
"It's nice to see you Mikey."  
  
This voice was different, a high-pitched whine from  
the back of the room. It sounded like his sister,  
Marissa, life cut short by a drunk driver.  
  
**This is crazy. I've got to get out of here.** He  
backed up slowly.  
  
"Mikey, not leaving us so soon. You just got here."  
  
"Rissa, you're not real."  
  
**Stress.** He'd heard stories, people who never  
really got over the war now locked up for their own  
safety in nut houses. **But the war's been over for  
two years.**  
  
"This isn't real."  
  
Another voice purred, a deep, rolling unfamiliar bur.  
"Oh, Michael, this is as real as it gets."  
  
"Wha.."  
  
Thunk.  
  
He screamed as flesh tore.  
  
Schnick.  
  
"Mike, you there? Mike!"  
  
The sounds of rushing feet.  
  
"Mike!"  
  
The door flew open again.  
  
"Preventors, freeze."  
  
There was a gag of horror among the crowd.  
  
"What in hell?"  
  
"Shit, what is that thing?"  
  
Metal hitting stone, shots fired to no avail.  
  
"Run for it!" The command turned into a scream of  
pain.  
  
"Stay away from me. Just stay away." Shuffling.  
Pleading. Suffering. "Please, God."  
  
There was a low chuckle. "Not quite."  
  
TBC 


	2. Chapter 1 : Enter the Players

Thanks Miss Kushranada for being my first review :) Heh, I got a   
review ~grin~ Here's your wish.There are now regular characters.  
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
What is Your Pleasure, Sir?  
by Carole  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
***  
Chapter 1 : Enter the Players  
***  
  
Some say that people are merely players on the stage  
of life.  
  
\\the curtains rise\\  
  
The scenery and actors revealed, forced to play their  
parts whether they wish it or no. Does it matter if  
the play is good or bad? Are there reviewers and  
critics to please? Only once the play has ended, the  
parts played out, can the actors know.   
  
\\the curtain falls\\  
  
For the actors, there is no standing ovation, no  
encore. There is only one thing.  
  
\\silence\\  
  
Or is there...  
  
***  
  
With slow deliberation, he made the adjustments. It  
had to be perfect, nothing less was acceptable. After  
a morning spent modifying the original design for  
better aerodynamics, Chang Wufei, Preventor Agent and  
ex-Gundam Pilot, was ready. Laid out before him were  
the fruits of his labor, a carefully prepared barrage,  
and he smiled grimly. It was time.  
  
With all the precision of his terrorist training, he  
aimed and let loose the first object, which made a  
beeline for its target. Another followed. Then  
another.  
  
Sky-blue eyes snapped up to meet his as a hand caught  
the paper crane, crushing its delicate folds before it  
could become in tangled with its predecessors in a  
mass of platinum blond hair.  
  
"Will you stop doing that?" Zechs' pleasant baritone  
tried for annoyance, but only managed to sound amused  
as he looked over the army of origami Wufei had  
arranged on his desk. "Well, at least its original,  
though I still don't know how that managed to take you  
all day."  
  
He couldn't help the vaguely offended expression that  
came over his face. These were not just folded paper  
birds; they had been made taking into account Zechs'  
height, distance to his desk and their own weight. It  
would never have taken this long for him to make  
simple ornaments.  
  
Wufei could not let such injustice stand. "The first  
design was not flight worthy. By increasing the wing  
width and adding a curve here," he said, picking up  
one of the cranes and pointing, "I managed to create  
more lift. I also had to modify the neck design, since  
it made it unbalanced. Finally, each fold must be  
perfect. Otherwise, one side will overbalance and  
cause it to crash."  
  
His partner blinked a few times at his explanation  
before leaning back in his chair and nodding. What he  
said, though, was unexpected. "We really need to get  
out of this office, don't we?"  
  
Wufei looked down at his desk with its folded paper  
and sketched crane designs. **Zechs may have a  
point,** he thought.  
  
"I want the things that happened in the past to never  
happen again, but sometimes..."   
  
"...you really wish we had a mission to go on."  
  
The last of the Dragon Clan nodded. It was pathetic,  
but true. He was bored. There had been no missions in  
two weeks and even his partner's usually more than  
acceptable company was wearing thin in this confined  
space. They were even caught up on the usual piles of  
paperwork that accumulated in the office.  
  
"We could..."  
  
Zechs' cut him off. "No, we're banned from the gym for  
the next few days. Pentogle doesn't want us scaring  
her trainees for a while, remember?"  
  
"They're potential Preventor agents, not children. She  
shouldn't be babying them."  
  
"It's her deeply hidden mothering streak." Both had to  
smile. If she had a mothering streak, it was very  
deeply buried indeed. "Or she doesn't want to share  
their pain with anyone else. Plus, she doesn't like us  
that much."  
  
Actually, Zechs was disliked merely from association  
and didn't know the true reason for the antagonism.  
When she had become a Preventor and taken over the  
physical training of new agents she'd mistaken him for  
one of her students. He'd only been passing through  
her class, but she'd decided to make an example of him  
for not paying attention. It had backfired miserably.  
  
"No, she doesn't. Stupid woman." It should have been  
obvious that he was not one of those ham-handed  
beginners, especially since that was not the first  
lesson she'd had with them.  
  
"There's that new place two blocks down. It looks  
rather nice. We could call in a bomb threat then  
volunteer to investigate."  
  
If it had been two weeks ago, Wufei would have looked  
at him in shock, especially given both their past  
associations. Now, unfortunately, it was almost  
looking like a good idea.  
  
"Actually, I'm more partial to Fecillini's down on  
Fifth."  
  
Blue eyes rolled upwards and stared at the artificial  
lighting on the ceiling imploringly. "I've created a  
monster. I never should have introduced you to Italian  
food."  
  
He couldn't help but smile. That had been one of the  
nicest nights he'd had in a long time, and he  
certainly hadn't minded the envious stares in his  
direction over his "date".  
  
"Do my eyes deceive me? You're smiling."  
  
If he had been Maxwell, he would have batted his eyes  
and whined in a falsetto feminine voice about Zechs  
bringing out the best in him, before pouting and  
asking about his favorite restaurant, but Wufei had  
more pride than that and couldn't sink that low.  
Instead, he quirked an eyebrow. "Fecillini's?"  
  
"If you want, though maybe we should skip the bomb  
threat and wait until after work."  
  
They both unconsciously glanced toward the clock.  
Three hours. For the first time in a long while, Wufei  
was hoping that a mission wouldn't come up and he  
restrained this inner satisfaction with the aid of  
long practice.  
  
***  
  
Beep.  
  
Two pairs of hands jerked towards the com, but Zechs'  
was faster. **Not now,** Wufei thought, but waited  
impassively as the call was answered. There was only a  
half hour to go. Why couldn't this have waited until  
tomorrow?  
  
"Wind here."  
  
There was a slight giggle. **It's Maxine, again.** He  
gave his best attempt at telepathy to tell Zechs to  
turn the bloody thing off. It was clear the other  
Preventor understood.  
  
"Can I speak to Wufei, please?"  
  
"Oh certainly, he's right here." Zechs smiled,  
ignoring the glares of death sent in his direction.  
  
**I'll get you for that, Merquise.**  
  
"Hi, Wufei. Umm... I was wondering, well, ummm..." The  
woman on the screen blushed. "Well, the floor is  
getting together and going over to Joe's after work  
and we wondered it you wanted to come..."  
  
That wasn't what she'd been going to say and he knew  
it. He glared with all his might at the screen, which  
threatened to spontaneously combust.  
  
"And, um, your partner's invited too, of course." She  
waited expectantly, as did Zechs who was trying not to  
laugh.  
  
"No, we're busy."   
  
"Oh, that's too bad. Well, I guess I'll say good-bye  
then."  
  
He clicked the machine off without a word of parting.  
"Ancestors!" he swore. "Stupid woman!" At least it  
hadn't been a mission.  
  
His partner chuckled. "I wonder if she would have run  
off to organize a gathering if you'd agreed. You  
should just arrange a date with her and show her a  
horrible time."  
  
"Do you think it will work?"  
  
"I speak from experience."  
  
"I doubt you could ever show someone a bad..." He was  
cut off suddenly.  
  
Beep.  
  
He flicked the screen on impatiently, but the face  
that greeted him was not Maxine.  
  
"Lady Une."  
  
He sensed Zechs nod of greeting behind him.  
  
Her voice was icy. "I have a mission for you. The  
briefing will be in my office in fifteen minutes."  
  
He jerked his head sharply in assent. It looked like  
Fellicini's would have to wait.  
  
***  
  
"One of our teams is gone. Ten of our men were wiped  
out on E-19938." The dark haired woman's eyes narrowed  
dangerously. "Who ever did this tore them apart. They  
weren't able to find all the pieces."  
  
Zechs could feel the anger poring off of her, at the  
culprits and at herself for letting this happen. He  
would have sensed it even knowing her less well than  
he did and inside felt a growing horror at the  
situation.  
  
He and Wufei sat at attention across from the  
Preventor Head. Her eyes shifted between the two of  
them, since they were the only ones summoned to this  
briefing. Lady Une wove her fingers together in front  
of her and continued.  
  
"They were trying to take into custody a small time  
fencer with ties to a suspected piracy ring they were  
investigating. These were not amateurs, all were  
experienced soldiers. One, Philip DeTerron, I believe  
served under you in Nairobi." She nodded at him and he  
vaguely recalled a husky voice and curly dark hair. He  
lowered his eyes in acknowledgement momentarily and  
exchanged a glance with Wufei. The Chinese man looked  
as troubled as he felt. Preventor teams didn't just  
get wiped out and to die unexpectedly in such a way  
was unthinkable. This was trouble and they both knew  
it.  
  
"I'm putting you two on this because you're the best  
we have." She handed Zechs a folder containing papers  
and disks. "This is what we know about the group they  
were investigating and the deaths. You can get any  
backup you need, call in outside help if you choose,  
but I want those responsible found. Understood?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am," they voiced in unison. What else was  
there to say? And to think that they'd wished for a  
mission to liven things up. Someone must have been  
listening.  
  
***  
  
"We're not going there alone, even just to  
investigate."  
  
Wufei snorted in agreement. The pair were back in  
their office once again. The clock had long since past  
the time they'd been planning to leave, but that  
didn't matter anymore. "A large team is too obvious  
and too dangerous if we have to baby-sit them." He ran  
his finger along the edge of the desk and tapped it  
lightly on its surface. A small, competent group would  
be best. He knew far too well from previous experience  
how dangerous things could get for those not able to  
keep up, one dead and two seriously injured partners  
had seen to that.  
  
"One or two to watch our backs then. We can call in  
help if we actually find anything." Zechs, painfully,  
had had similar experiences.  
  
It was a question of who to ask. Most Preventors were  
good, but, given the choice, were not ones he'd have  
watching his back. The few he would have asked weren't  
available. He closed his eyes and wished Sally was  
still here. Finally, he opened them and looked at  
Zechs. The answer was obvious.  
  
Quatre was now running the Winner Empire, Trowa was  
working as his bodyguard, so they wouldn't be  
feasible, but there were two remaining possibilities,  
both of whom were likely together at the moment.   
  
As if sensing his thoughts, the former Lightning Count  
spoke.  
  
"Heero."  
  
"Hmmm. I'll call Maxwell tonight. He follows Yuy  
around like a love sick puppy and will know where he  
is."  
  
"You don't like him that much, do you?"  
  
Wufei didn't respond to the question. "I'll make the  
travel arrangements. We should be able to leave  
tomorrow morning."  
  
Zechs grabbed the case file. "I'll go over these." He  
walked towards the door, then turned around at the  
entrance. "Make sure you get some sleep too, Wufei. I  
think we're going to be busy for a while." With that,  
he left, closing the door behind him.  
  
***  
  
"Hey, Wu-man, to what do I owe the pleasure?" From  
anyone else, the name would have triggered a scathing  
salvo of insults, but with Maxwell, it was useless.  
Since there was no point in trying, he let it alone.  
  
A cheerfully smiling Duo filled the screen, his eyes  
wide and his mouth dimpled. Wufei's lips formed a  
narrow line cutting across him face. This was serious  
and he was not in the mood to mince words. "There's a  
situation. We'd like to call you and Yuy in. Is he  
around?"  
  
The perpetual smile fell a bit and a flash of pain  
flickered through his eyes. "He left."  
  
A surprised "what" slipped out before he could stop  
it. This was unexpected. The braided pilot's feelings  
would have been obvious to a stone and Heero's gruff  
acceptance of them had spoken volumes about his own  
affection, even to Wufei. But now was not the time to  
coddle Maxwell's feelings. Feeling slightly guilty, he  
asked, "Do you know where he is?"  
  
Violet eyes would have appeared stone dead if not for  
the threatening condensation in their corners and his  
face went blank. "No. I came home from work, he had  
his stuff packed and told me he was leaving. He  
refused to tell me where he was going and why." The  
dead eyed stare stopped pounding into him when Duo  
closed his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. "I  
don't know what I was thinking. I should have known  
better than to expect him to care for me. Idiot! And  
he was right about that too."  
  
It was disturbing to watch the cheerful mask slip back  
into place. It was like a switch had been flipped and  
now the usual Duo, the hyperactive idiot, was once  
again in control. Wufei wondered if he typical grin  
was a much of an act as this one.  
  
Words fired out too fast to respond to. "So, you want  
me to come in, huh? Did Sally put you up to this?  
How's she doing anyway?"  
  
If he had touched on a painful subject for Maxwell,  
the other boy had returned the favor. "Sally's been on  
maternity leave for five months."  
  
"So you finally..." The look on Wufei's face must have  
spoken for him. "No, huh? Whose is it?"  
  
"Her fiancée's, Simon, down from public relations."  
Even the name was sour on his tongue.  
  
"Ah, man, I'm sorry. I had no idea."  
  
Wufei grunted. It didn't matter, he and Sally had  
never been meant to be together anyway. "We've been  
sent to investigate the deaths of several Preventors  
on E-19938..."  
  
"And you want backup. I get it."  
  
"So, Maxwell, you'll do it? You can say no. These  
killings were vicious."  
  
"Well, Hilde can run things fine for herself for a  
while and I can handle myself. I think I need to leave  
to sort things out anyway. So, who's 'we' with Sally  
gone? It can't be another woman, since I doubt they'd  
put up with you."  
  
"Zechs Merquise."  
  
"You're working with HIM! And you haven't killed each  
other?"  
  
"Lady Une thought it was a good idea. We work rather  
well together," he replied with dignity.  
  
"And we all know how stable she is," Maxwell muttered,  
mainly to himself. Though he respected the work she  
was doing with the Preventors, it was obvious he had  
never totally forgotten her attempt to blackmail the  
Gundams using the colonies.  
  
"It was a perfectly good idea." He was probably making  
a mistake with this confession, but he couldn't let  
the braided idiot mock one of the few women he had any  
respect for. "One of my new partners died, through his  
own carelessness, two others were severely injured on  
duty within a month. He'd had the same problem since  
coming back from Mars without Noin. No one else was  
willing to work with us at that point. Called it 'the  
Curse.' At least we know that the other is good enough  
to take care of himself."  
  
"That explains why you were assigned together, but I'm  
surprised that you can actually stand each other,  
given your past histories."  
  
The worst of the confession was over. What difference  
would it make? "Well, we spent about two weeks glaring  
at each other, but it just became ridiculous. The past  
is past. Neither of us can change it." He glowered at  
the screen.  
  
"Okay, okay... sorry I asked." Duo held his hands up  
defensively. "When are you two leaving?"  
  
"As soon as possible."  
  
"I'll meet you there, then. It's faster."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"Oy, of course. Just make sure you have some official  
looking ID for me, it'll make things a bit easier."  
  
Wufei nodded. "We're coming on 837 shuttle."  
  
"See you there, then." His hand reached up to turn off  
the machine.  
  
"Duo?" The Preventor's voice was soft.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I'm sorry about Heero."  
  
"Well, you said it. The past is past. I'll just have  
to look forward from now on." He sighed. "Bye, Wu."  
  
The picture turned to static as the connection was  
cut.   
  
TBC... 


	3. Chapter 2 : The Game Begins

diane - Wow, that has to be the best and most detailed review  
I've every recieved at FF.net. Thank you. Heero's reasons will be   
revealed, don't worry. He is not out of the story completely. All   
I'll say is trust your instincts on the relationships, you're much   
too perceptive about everything :)  
  
DdraigCoch - Thanks for the review. And to answer your question...  
Have you ever had a friend just do something silly to you and  
you just let it go the first few times, shaking your head at  
the whole thing until it becomes apparent that they won't stop  
on their own... I was thinking something like that.  
  
So, anyway, on with the show...  
  
  
***  
Chapter 2 : The Game Begins  
***  
  
Or perhaps life is not a play, but a game. Everyone  
likes games, don't they?  
  
\\Slide. Click.\\  
  
But how do you know when it is your turn?  
  
\\Slide. Click.\\  
  
How do you know the rules?  
  
\\Check.\\  
  
How do you win such a game?  
  
\\And Mate.\\  
  
A game no one leaves alive.  
  
***  
  
The colony was almost beautiful in a bland way. It was  
amazingly clean, at least in this area, and heaven  
compared to his old home on L2. People pushed passed  
him, the mindless scurrying of ants with places to be.  
Duo kept an eye out for familiar faces in the crowd.  
Thanks to some old contacts, he had managed to get  
here before the two Preventors. This was the  
checkpoint for the entrance to the colony. Unless they  
were on an industrial shuttle, they'd have to pass  
through here.  
  
//Shuttle 837 is docking,// the loudspeaker pronounced  
in an artificially animated voice.  
  
**Didn't Wu say that was the one they were taking?**   
He certainly hoped so, his stomach was protesting his  
long wait.  
  
There was a flash of dark hair out of the corner of  
his eye. He turned to see Wufei presenting his ID to  
the official who was probably nervous about letting  
armed men on board. The Chinese man seemed taller than  
he remembered and Duo cursed his own lack of height.  
Malnutrition had apparently stunted his growth. Still,  
he wasn't as tall as his companion.  
  
The man was recognizable from his infamous  
transmission to Earth if that was whom you were  
expecting, but it was clear that the pictures hadn't  
done him justice. Like Wufei, his long hair was pulled  
back from his face in a ponytail, bangs framing a face  
that reminded Duo of pre-colony paintings of angels.  
The vision exchanged a glance with his shorter  
partner, who was gesturing in Duo's direction. He  
raised a hand in the air and was rewarded with a nod.  
With that, the pair made their way over to him,  
awareness of their surroundings shown in the way they  
skillfully avoided the other passengers.  
  
The trio walked out of the press of people without a  
word, before Zechs turned to him.  
  
"Duo Maxwell, it's nice to finally meet you."  
  
And wasn't that the sexiest voice he'd ever heard?  
Damn, you're on a mission here, Maxwell. Don't let  
your hormones get out of control. Just because  
Heero... He stopped the thought and grinned.  
  
"The one and only. I run, I hide, but I never lie.  
It's nice to meet you too, Zechs. I'm glad to see you,  
Wu-man." He looked between his two companions. Wufei  
was glaring. "You guys worked out any hotel  
arrangements yet? I found a place not too far from  
here, but I wasn't sure..."  
  
That deep voice purred again. "That would be fine. We  
were a bit rushed."  
  
"Okay, I'll call us a ride and the hotel, if you want.  
You guys just get your stuff."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Man, he understood now why Wu didn't mind the company.  
**Well, Heero's out of the picture. You might as well  
accept it. Time to move on.** He bounced off, braid  
swinging behind him. There was no time like the  
present.  
  
***  
  
"Here we are! All the comforts of home." The door to  
the room flung open with a flourish revealing a plain,  
but clean, room with two double beds decorated with  
cheery floral wallpaper.   
  
Zechs walked passed Duo, avoiding his outrageous bow  
as the younger man gestured for the Preventors to  
enter. Despite the gravity of the situation that had  
brought them here and lack of sleep, the Prince of  
Sank smiled. There was just something irresistible and  
irrepressible about Duo's personality that outdid the  
room's artificial brightness a hundred fold. It was  
hard to believe at times that he had been a Gundam  
pilot.  
  
With long strides, Zechs made his way into the room  
and set his meager bags along the back wall out of the  
path of the incoming Dragon who followed his example.  
Duo, instead, bounded inside and dumped his stuff on  
the bed nearest the door, ignoring the attention  
directed at him.  
  
Wufei wore what he had come to know as his  
"exasperated face". Fortunately, the look was hardly  
ever directed at him, though he'd come to know his  
partner's stony glare quite well when they were first  
assigned to each other. It was the same glare that had  
caused three transfers of partners due to "personality  
conflicts". They'd managed to work out their  
differences eventually, though neither had mentioned  
the true cause. Trieze was still too raw in both their  
hearts, even after all this time.  
  
Duo ignored Wufei's annoyance and spoke, "So, you guys  
hungry? Want to order room service or something,  
'cause I'm starving?"  
  
Truthfully, so was Zechs, so he nodded. "I wouldn't  
mind." He looked at Wufei questioningly, but the dark  
eyes were not directed at him.  
  
"We should report to Lady Une first." It was as if the  
Chinese Preventor was waiting for someone to  
contradict him.   
  
"Sure, 'Fei."  
  
"You're probably right. Then she'll know where to find  
us if she needs to." Or where to check to see if  
something has happened to us. Given what had happened  
previously, the second wasn't as unlikely as Zechs  
would have liked. Though sometimes irritating, Wufei's  
tendency to stick to the book had proved beneficial in  
the past.  
  
It was only a short communication, just long enough to  
impart the essentials. There was no new information on  
any of the involved or suspected parties.  
  
"So, food. Do you guys want anything specific or..."  
  
When his partner made no reply, Zechs answered for  
him. "Call and order whatever you want."  
  
"Don't blame me if you don't like it, then." The quick  
smile flashed in his direction was heart stopping, but  
it vanished from view as Duo went to look at the  
possible options. Pilot 02 certainly knew how to make  
an impression. He was far too pretty for his own good,  
especially when he smiled.  
  
"Hmmm... what do we have here?" A few slightly wicked  
chuckles emanated from behind the braided boy.  
  
A thought flickered through his mind. **This could be  
interesting.** He was not just referring to the meal,  
either.  
  
***  
  
Despite his earlier threats of escargot, Duo had  
settled for a more mundane meal and was munching on  
the remains of a sandwich. He watched the other  
occupants of the room expectantly as Wufei dug out the  
files on the case that he had been unwilling to send  
over an unsecured line.  
  
"Is this when you finally let me in on all the  
details?" Duo asked.  
  
Zechs spoke first. "I'm sure you've heard the news  
about the Preventor deaths on this colony."  
  
"Yeah, who hasn't. 'Preventors killed in incompetent  
raid on small time smuggler.' I read it in the paper  
this morning while waiting for you guys. Something  
about an explosion. A lot of people are questioning  
the Preventor's effectiveness over this, no offence."  
He paused for breath. "I'm taking that's what were  
here for."  
  
Wufei narrowed his eyes as the headline was repeated  
and felt a ball of anger in his gut. It was an  
injustice how failures were all that were noticed and  
he hissed heatedly, "Idiots." He had personally been  
involved in several missions that stopped outright war  
from occurring. The facts that had reached the press,  
however, were not the true ones. It had seemed best to  
spread misleading information with smatterings of  
truth, at least until the matter was brought to a  
close.  
  
"Yes, and no. Quite a few things didn't make it to the  
papers."  
  
Wufei continued for his partner. "There were no  
explosives. Something ripped them to shreds, but the  
building was untouched."  
  
Duo stared at him. "So that's why you wanted back up.  
I'd wondered why you would call for something like  
that."  
  
"It also wasn't just a smuggler. They suspect he was  
also fencing goods from a piracy ring, one that's been  
plaguing this entire sector for months and is thought  
to have been responsible for the disappearance of at  
least ten ships along with their crews."  
  
"And?"   
  
Maxwell glanced between the two Preventors. Zechs'  
face was grim. "One other thing missed the papers. We  
have a witness. There was a survivor."  
  
***  
  
"His name is Michael Ramsey. Ex-Alliance soldier with  
a very good record and joined the Preventors seven  
months ago. Only family still living is his younger  
brother, who we haven't been able to contact."  
  
It was difficult for Duo to keep up with the blond  
man's longer steps as the trio made their way through  
the hospital halls. The sterile white was broken only  
by doorways painted a dower green. Stepping sideways  
to avoid an unoccupied wheelchair, he collided with  
Wufei and was rewarded with a glare. **Man, he sure is  
touchy.**  
  
Zechs stopped at a desk manned by a plump woman with  
mousy brown hair in a bun and a nametag that read  
'Nancy'. The desk was messy, but had the feel of  
organized chaos, as did the woman behind it.  
  
"Yes?" The voice, while not hostile, was not friendly  
either.  
  
With a graceful hand, the former Lightning Count  
reached under his tan coat and pulled out his ID.  
"Preventors," he said smoothly. "We're here to see Mr.  
Ramsey."   
  
Nancy's assessing gaze swept over the three of them,  
lingering on Duo questioningly. Yeah, so he looked  
young. He was young. **Deal with it, lady.** He smiled  
back at her, but the smile was as questioning as her  
own gaze. Her eyes flicked back to Zechs and down to  
her computer. She clattered the keys, frowning at the  
screen, before looking up. "He's in room 502. They're  
expecting you. I'll call up and tell them you're  
coming."  
  
Wufei nodded at her abruptly and headed for the  
elevator. Zechs followed. Duo paused and winked at her  
once with an almost vicious smirk. He hated being  
thought less of because of his age.  
  
They were met on the fifth floor by a balding dark  
haired doctor.  
  
"How is he?" Wufei asked.  
  
"Physically, his injuries weren't that serious. Some  
stitches were necessary and he'd lost blood, but he'll  
recover."  
  
It was the squint near the eyes, the tightening of  
wrinkles that showed that there was something wrong.  
"But?" Duo asked.  
  
"I don't know how much he'll be able to tell you. He's  
been talking about demons since he woke up. It may  
pass, he's had a rough time, but these sort of things  
take time and counseling."  
  
Zechs paused his step in front of the room. "Time that  
we don't have, I'm afraid."   
  
The doctor reached for the door. "He's been restrained  
since he's been easily agitated and we don't want him  
to hurt himself further. I'll be right outside if he  
gets violent."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
With that the three passed through the threshold and  
Duo blinked, eyes adjusting to the dimmer light of the  
room. Along the left wall was a man dressed in a green  
hospital gown and, as his eyes attuned themselves, he  
could make out a white bandage across one cheek,  
contrasting itself against the deeper tan of the man's  
skin. Short scruffy dark hair stuck out in all  
directions and wild eyes jerked upwards at their  
approach.   
  
"Who are you?" The voice was ragged and harsh, as if  
it had been misused recently.  
  
"I'm Preventor Stone." Wufei jerked his head in the  
blonde's direction. "This is Preventor Wind and Mr.  
Maxwell, an outside consultant." Duo nodded. "We'd  
like to ask you some questions, Mr. Ramsey."  
  
"You can ask if you like." The man laughed. "You just  
won't like the answers. You'll just think I'm crazy,  
same as everyone else."  
  
"Do you mind if we sit down?"  
  
"No, do whatever you like. It's not like I can  
object." He tugged the restraints loosely, emphasizing  
his point.  
  
There were two chairs, uncomfortable orange  
monstrosities such as those found in public schools.  
The black haired Preventor settled in the nearest one  
and whipped out a notepad and a pen. Zechs and Duo  
looked at each other for a moment before the ex-Oz  
officer gestured graciously with his one hand for him  
to take the seat.  
  
"I'll stand," Zechs nearly whispered.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He saw Wufei wince at the slight squeak as Duo brought  
the chair up beside his and settled himself and Zechs  
leaned behind him against the wall.  
  
"Can you tell us exactly what happened?"  
  
***  
  
"Something about this is just wrong."  
  
"Of course it's wrong, Maxwell," Wufei spat back at  
him in exasperation. "The man said his dead father and  
sister spoke to him before tearing his team mates  
apart."  
  
"That's not what I mean. There's just something  
familiar about all this, like I've heard about it  
before." The way the man's eyes had raked over him  
sent goose bumps up his spine.  
  
//"You know, don't you. You're friends don't believe  
me, but you do. I can tell."//  
  
How had the man known?  
  
"Something like this?" Zechs turned ice blue eyes that  
would be so easy to get lost in on him and tilted his  
head to one side.   
  
Duo broke contact first and swore. "Damn if I remember  
where, though."  
  
"Hm."  
  
Wufei cut in. "That's impossible."  
  
"I just have a feeling, okay? Like something bad is  
just around the corner."  
  
Before Wufei could say anything else, Zechs quelled  
him with a fierce look of his own. Duo was relieved,  
but the itch was still there. He tugged at the end of  
his braid. Demon's weren't his specialty, for all the  
name Shinigami, but he was sure he could find someone  
who would know better.  
  
As they left the building, he could still feel  
Michael's gaze despite the impossibility.  
  
//"'We'll tear your souls apart,' he said. But they  
couldn't run, the door closed on them. The monster  
skinned Ventiz first..."//  
  
Yes, he needed to find out more. Anticipation filled  
him. Let the hunt begin.   
  
TCB... 


	4. Chapter 3 : Signs and Portents

diane - Thank you for continuing to review. Yes, there  
is a reason. I hope my characterization doesn't slip,  
but I'm glad you think it's doing alright so far. I  
had a lot of trouble trying to 'get' Wufei since I  
didn't want to do him a disservice as I like him  
a lot. I'm still building in this chapter, again. And   
I think you'll probably start to see where this is going...  
  
So, on with the show...  
  
(and remember everyone who is following this... feedback   
is the key to more stories!)  
  
***  
Chapter 3 : Signs and Portents  
***  
  
Time is a circle. Is there anything new?  
  
\\That which has been is that which will be.\\  
  
Can the past predict the present or the future? Or  
should we know? Perhaps it is not for mortal eyes.  
  
\\And that which has been done is that which will be  
done.\\  
  
Who can read such ciphers? Who can tell us what our  
path should take?  
  
\\So, there is nothing new under the sun.\\  
  
But, what of things that know no sunlight, hidden in  
the darker corners of the universe? Who can see them  
and give us warning? Who can read the signs and  
portents buried in the dark of more than human hearts?  
  
***  
  
"I didn't know you were into this weird shit, Duo.  
Sorry, buddy, but this isn't really my field."  
  
Duo sighed. He was running out of contacts. He'd never  
really tried to track down a demon before, content  
instead to be one to enemy soldiers.  
  
"That's okay, Donald. Talk to you later."  
  
He reached to break the contact, but the man stopped  
him. "Wait a sec. I think I know someone who might be  
able to help you."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"His name's Damian McNeil. Give me a minute to dig up  
his number."  
  
Finally. This was the first promising sign all day. He  
couldn't get Michael's eyes out of his mind. They'd  
seen something, something more than even the war could  
account for. Wufei and Zechs were talking to the local  
law enforcement about they knew of the man the  
Preventor's had been trying to apprehend. Since his  
presence tended to be off-putting to some officials,  
he'd volunteered to stay behind and see if he could  
dig up anything.  
  
A face again appeared on the screen. "His number's  
1-435-237-7845. Good researcher. Don't use him too  
often 'cause he does mainly historical stuff, but this  
is just his thing. The guy's damned creepy, collectin'  
all this occult mumbo jumbo, just what you need. His  
rates are reasonable too."  
  
The former pilot smiled. "Thanks a bunch."  
  
"No prob. Anytime, Duo."  
  
The screen went blank. Hopefully somebody upstairs was  
smiling on him, he needed a break. Of course, it might  
all be pointless, the ravings of a madman. **The scary  
part was he looked so damned sane when he was saying  
all that crazy stuff. His eyes weren't lying.**  
  
He reached out and dialed.  
  
//Beep. Beep. Beep.//  
  
The com continued to beep. **Must not be anyone there.  
Or it's the middle of the night there and my one lead  
is going to be incredibly pissed off at me.** He  
hadn't recognized the code for the area, though it was  
on Earth.  
  
He was about to hang up when a vaguely European voice  
croaked out "Hello."  
  
The man on the screen was about thirty-five, with  
brown hair and a face pasty and pale from lack of sun.  
Light glinted off his glasses. What Duo could make out  
of the surroundings were old-fashioned paper books,  
piled in clumps on a dusty desk.  
  
"Hi, is this Damian McNeil?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"My name is Duo Maxwell. A friend of mine, Donald  
Robertson, said you might be able to help me. I  
understand you have an interest in researching the  
occult."  
  
Suddenly, the man perked up. "It is my hobby. My  
obsession, you could say."  
  
**Bingo.** That had obviously been the right thing to  
start with. **He probably thought I was asking him to  
dig up some dusty, boring family history or  
something.**  
  
"I have a sketchy description. How much would it cost  
me to have you check it out for me and see what you  
can find?"  
  
"Give me the description first." The man seated  
himself at the desk in front of the screen, watching  
him intently, glasses glowing almost eerily. He looked  
like a vampire. Donald was right, the guy was creepy.  
  
"They were pale, white, and dressed in black leather,  
so something like it. The leader was a man, but he had  
pins arranged in a grid all over his head. There was a  
woman with him, but her scalp had been peeled off and  
tied down to her shoulders."  
  
He looked at Damian closely. The man didn't seem  
surprised at anything he was saying. In fact, he was  
nodding, like it was making perfect sense.  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"Chains. They were directed and prevented escape.  
Also, they mimicked the voices of the dead."  
  
"Interesting." Damian pushed his glasses up his nose  
and leaned back in his chair. "Where did you get this  
description? I don't think it was first hand."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Well, you're in too good shape to have come into  
contact with them," replied the man, matter-of-factly.  
  
"You're actually believing this?"  
  
"Oh, yes. There are documented accounts. It's not as  
strange as you might believe. I take it that this  
isn't just casual interest, then? Was it a friend  
perhaps? Or a relative?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who survived, of course." The man was as cold-blooded  
as a snake. "You had to get this description from  
someone and I don't think it was researched. If that  
was the case, you wouldn't need me."  
  
"Just an acquaintance."  
  
"Ah, well, they're lucky. To survive an encounter with  
the Order of the Gash."  
  
"Order of the what?"  
  
"Gash. Hell's elite damned."  
  
The idea was insane, but he had been the one to pursue  
this train of thought. **Maybe I should have just gone  
with Wufei and blamed it on shock.** He looked on  
Damian's grinning face and shivered. The itch of  
something crept up his neck again. He'd never been  
sure about God, but Hell was something he'd seen too  
many times in reality.  
  
"Can you do it? You seem to know a lot about them."  
  
"So you are going to look for them, then?"  
  
There was a thought. Did he really want to meet the  
things that had done that? The problem was, he did. He  
wanted, no, he needed, to know.  
  
"We'll see," he said, noncommittally.   
  
Damian nodded. "You are. I can tell."  
  
He flashed back to Michael's hospital room. //"You  
know, don't you? You're friends don't believe me, but  
you do. I can tell."//  
  
The man had continued in spite of his distraction.  
"Who wouldn't want to know what comes after? For this,  
I'll give you a deal. I'll send you everything I can  
find." Dark eyes a hint too bright pierced him. "In  
return, you do the same when you do find them.  
Preferably before you try to summon them."  
  
"That's it?"  
  
"Yes. Trust me, it's worth it."  
  
"What do you mean, 'when I find them'? I probably  
won't."  
  
"Oh, you will. Once you start looking, you'll find  
them." Damian paused and smiled wider, this time with  
teeth. "Or they'll find you. It's just a question of  
time."  
  
***  
  
They had found out nothing that they hadn't already  
known. With the smuggler gone, there were no more  
leads to the pirates and what had destroyed the  
Preventor team. Basically, they had wasted a day and  
the killers were that much farther from their grasp.  
Zechs took a deep breath, looking upward at their  
hotel, unconsciously seeking out their room on the  
third floor. Wufei was muttering to himself about  
'local incompetents' and fuming. Hopefully Duo had had  
more luck than they.  
  
He reached up one hand and brushed his bangs out of  
his face, tucking some behind his right ear as they  
crossed the street and made for the door. Duo had  
mentioned trying to find some information through his  
contacts. The boy had had a strange look in his eye  
ever since the interview with Ramsey. It was a gleam  
that seemed somewhat disturbing behind those usually  
cheerful eyes, but Duo had been a Gundam pilot after  
all and it was times like this that he could believe  
it easily.  
  
"Do you think he's found anything?" Zechs asked his  
partner as they went inside and made for their room.  
  
"Humph. He's probably looking for demons." There was a  
bitter edge to the statement. Wufei had been acting  
rather touchy ever since they'd reached the colony. He  
apparently didn't get along well with Duo, though  
Zechs had to admit to himself that he didn't mind the  
young man's company at all. Quite the opposite in  
fact.  
  
Pulling out his key card, Zechs knocked once on the  
door to let Duo know they were there. Surprising a  
Gundam pilot was never a good idea, as three months  
working with Wufei had taught him. The lock made a  
hishing sound as he slid the key in and the light  
turned green. He pushed it open and held the door for  
the younger Chinese man.  
  
Duo smiled at him as he entered.  
  
"How'd it go?"  
  
"Not so well," the blond replied. "We didn't find out  
anything new."  
  
"That sucks, man."  
  
Zechs shut the door behind him with a click. "We're  
going to have to do some investigating of our own.  
What about you?"  
  
"Well, I may have found something."  
  
He watched Wufei walk past Duo without a word, set  
down his case of papers at a perpendicular angle to  
the desk and attempt to drill into the braided boy's  
head using his eyes alone. It didn't appear to be  
working. Duo was probably used to it by now and  
ignored it.  
  
"I called up some people I know and one of them  
suggested a researcher in the occult..."  
  
His partner snorted derisively. "Demons? Maxwell, do  
you really expect us to believe that fairy tales  
killed those men?"  
  
Duo ignored the interruption. "I gave him Ramsey's  
description and he recognized it."  
  
That was interesting, but not really unexpected.  
People often had nightmares with things they knew.  
Still, it might be useful to find out what triggered  
it.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"He's sent me some preliminary information and is  
going to get back to me with more detailed stuff. And  
unless Ramsey has some interesting and disturbing  
hobbies, I doubt he could get a match to these simply  
from past association." Duo handed him a print out.  
  
Zechs looked at the picture on it, a sketch really, of  
a man's head. There was nothing really extraordinary  
about it, if you ignored the detailed pattern of pins  
gridded across it.  
  
"Familiar, huh?"  
  
The former Lightning Count nodded and handed it to  
Wufei.  
  
"The Order of the Gash. Damned souls who now serve in  
Hell as soldiers against humanity."  
  
"Ancestors! That's..."  
  
"Crazy." Duo smiled wider as Wufei shook his head in  
disbelief.   
  
"Do you think someone was imitating these demons?"  
  
"Maybe." He took the picture back from Wufei and set  
it onto a pile of other papers on the desk.  
  
***  
  
"You fool!"  
  
"But..."  
  
"Don't you realize what you've done? You've probably  
led them right to my doorstep."  
  
Bremand was angry, no more than that, he was furious.  
Not only had this little two timing thief killed  
Preventor agents, he had come running straight to him.  
  
"I wasn't followed, they were all too busy trying to  
find out what happened."  
  
"What? That's easy enough to explain. You rigged your  
place with a bomb and now they're all howling for your  
blood," his voice noticeably calmer, though his anger  
had not lessened. It did not do to show too much undue  
emotion in front of his men, but this had caught him  
by surprise. He'd have to make an example, that much  
was clear. "I can't allow this sort of thing to  
happen, you know. It's bad for business."  
  
"Wait! Please!" the other whimpered. Pathetic, just  
like the rest of him, from his long unwashed hair to  
the nervous twitch on his left cheek to the way he  
cowered in the chair across from Bremand's desk.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because that's not what happened at all. I... I  
didn't rig a bomb. The Preventors probably still don't  
know what happened. It's..."  
  
"Yes?" he said, impatience evident from both his tone  
and the way he tapped his foot against the floor.  
  
For a moment, he worried that the man was going for a  
weapon, despite the expert search and the men standing  
by out of sight for that purpose. The rifling through  
clothes stopped and something was pulled out from  
beneath the immense jacket. "This." The object was put  
forth for his perusal.  
  
"A box. Most impressive," Bremand said sarcastically.  
  
"No, this is what did it."  
  
"Really?"  
  
***  
  
"So you see, I'm bringing it to you," Charlie  
finished. He'd left out a great deal, but told Bremand  
all the important stuff. Hopefully it would be enough  
to save his neck. The Preventors hadn't been his  
fault, he'd only been trying to keep up his end of the  
deal. He shivered at the thought of black eyes, eyes  
with no whites that looked into his soul. He never  
wanted to see those again. Let someone else have the  
box, yes, let someone else deal with it, with them.  
  
"Very interesting. I'll have to test it." Bremand was  
fingering the object, but his gaze met his again.  
"But, I can't change my mind. An example is still  
necessary."  
  
"What?" That bastard, after what he'd done. Charlie  
jumped to his feet and ran for the door, but didn't  
get very far. Pain in his leg, and he fell, then pain  
in his chest. Coughing blood, his last glimpse of this  
world was Bremand smiling smugly at him, box in hand.  
The world began to go dark. He could hear laughter,  
but whether it was Bremand or Them, he couldn't tell.  
Despair. He'd kept his bargain, he brought more  
victims in exchange for his own life, but it hadn't  
mattered had it. He was still damned.  
  
TBC ...  
  
  
======  
Notes:  
I'm adding a notes section just cause I feel like it... well,  
actually, I'm planning on letting you know some stuff.  
  
Okay, for those of you who are still clueless, this story is a  
crossover with Hellraiser. (You know, the movies with the guy  
that looks like a pincushion.) I have only seen the first 4 movies  
so I have discounted anything from the fifth one. But those I have   
seen enough times that I could probably write transcripts of them  
from memory. This, more that GW is where I'm going to play with canon.  
I mean, this is about Hell, I'm just running with it.  
It's not based on the written material available, though I will  
make a few references to a few comics and such. If I do, I will note   
it. Otherwise, only things seen on screen count for this.   
  
If you want more information, I suggest watching the movies or you  
can try the Hellbound Web at http://www.cenobite.com  
  
Well, here's more stuff you probably don't care about at all,   
but I thought I'd share.  
  
The beginning is a bit of paraphrasing of one of my favourite  
biblical quotations.   
  
Damian's first name is a bit of a tribute to the Omen movies.  
  
Donald's first name came from the Mayor of Casterbridge, a book  
I absolutely can't stand. I have no idea why I thought of him,   
but I did.  
  
And the title is taken from an episode of Babylon 5, one of the best  
shows of all time in my opinion. 


	5. Chapter 4 : All that Glitters

ChibiBoko - I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. I'm  
happy to be feeding your 6x2 addiction :)   
  
So, on with the show...  
  
  
  
***  
Chapter 4 : All that Glitters  
***  
  
Truth and illusion. How far apart are they? One  
person's truth is another's lie.  
  
\\Do you believe? Do you see?\\  
  
Gold only has worth because society says it does.  
  
\\Do you want to?\\  
  
Do you only see what you want to see?  
  
\\Ignorance is less painful.\\  
  
People are blind and deaf when they wish to be.  
History has proved that time and time again, how easy  
it is to turn away, how easy it is to let it be  
someone else's problem.  
  
***  
  
Hilde was glad to get a message from Duo. They'd been  
together so much that she was going into withdrawal.  
He'd left a number to reach him at and told her when  
he'd probably be in. So what if it was the middle of  
the night? That didn't make that much difference,  
she'd been on a weird schedule since Duo left, trying  
to keep up with work.  
  
Pouring herself a coffee, she sat down and punched in  
his number. She hoped he was still up.  
  
Beep. Beep. Beep.  
  
"Hello, Duo Maxwell speaking."  
  
He sounded tired and hadn't even looked at the screen  
yet to see who it was. This case must be tough,  
whatever it was. He hadn't said when he'd left. Well,  
why else would they ask for his help? **Girl, you're  
just being silly again. You probably should get sleep  
too.**  
  
"Duo, it's me."  
  
"Hilde?" He blinked, then smiled at her. "It's great  
to see you."  
  
"Likewise. How are you? You look tired."  
  
"So do you. And yeah, I feel tired. But other than  
that, I'm doing good."  
  
She hoped he just wasn't trying to make her feel  
better. But, if he was, he was at least pretending to  
be cheerful. After Heero left, he hadn't even bothered  
to do that. And if she ever found out where Heero  
went, they would have 'words'. She didn't care if he  
was the 'perfect soldier', he'd regret what he'd put  
Duo through.  
  
"I'm glad to hear it. You've been looking after  
yourself, right?" She inspected him. "Have you been  
eating?"  
  
"A mother hen, that's what you are," he said, but  
nodded anyway.  
  
"Well, you need one."  
  
He sat straighter with dignity. "I am perfectly  
capable of taking care of myself."  
  
"I know, I just like to worry."  
  
He stuck his tongue out at her. She smiled back.  
  
"You don't need to. Things are actually really good.  
Well, not exactly. We're totally lost on the case and  
'Fei is being, well, himself, but other things are  
looking up."  
  
"Such as..."   
  
"Well," Duo said, more smirking than smiling, "I've  
met somebody."  
  
She wasn't sure to be happy for him or not. This was  
probably a replacement for Heero. Hilde, though,  
smiled outwardly.  
  
"Not only does he look like sex on legs, he's got  
everything else AND I think he likes me."  
  
"And who is this mysterious man?"  
  
"Zechs Merquise. Tall, blond and gorgeous. I think  
he's the reason Wufei being so pissy, doesn't like it  
when we're together."  
  
Zechs Merquise, the name was familiar. But she  
couldn't place it.   
  
"And I know what you're thinking, but he isn't like  
that at all."  
  
She wasn't sure what he meant. Maybe that he was like  
Heero.  
  
"If you're sure."  
  
"Absolutely positive. So, anything happening back  
home?"  
  
"Besides me working myself ragged for your benefit..."  
  
"Hey, you're half owner. It's not just for my  
benefit."  
  
She giggled. He definitely sounded more like himself.  
Maybe this Zechs fellow wasn't so bad.  
  
"Whatever you say. Well, Mrs. Norbert's cat had  
kittens. I've adopted one, but we're waiting until  
it's a bit older. He's really cute. Actually, he looks  
like you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Like you do in that priest's outfit of yours. Yes,  
just like you."  
  
"Are you trying to replace me?" he asked with mock  
suspicion.  
  
"Don't worry. I don't think anyone could do that."  
  
"Good. But if you call it Duo, I'll get really  
confused."  
  
"I'll remember that."  
  
There wasn't much else that had happened since he  
left, except...  
  
"You probably have seen this in the papers already."  
He shook his head.  
  
"I haven't been paying too much attention to what's  
going on back home."  
  
"They found the Ghoul dead in his home. Someone had  
tortured him to death in his own basement." The Ghoul,  
nickname for the serial killer who had been plaguing  
L2, with an obsession for blood of young teenagers.  
"His wife found him after a two week business trip and  
told the papers as well as the police. Trying to get  
her moment of glory, I guess. Now the press is  
accusing the police of trying to protect the killer,  
'cause he's apparently done it since the Eve war.  
Weird, huh?"  
  
"Well, I can say I'm one of the one's who glad."  
  
"Yeah, me too. A monster like that deserves what's  
coming to him. But the other guy is a murderer too.  
Why would anyone try to help him?"  
  
Duo cocked his head in thought for a moment. "Probably  
'cause he's makin' their jobs easier. I mean, if I was  
them, I'd want someone who'd do what you couldn't.  
Sometimes, don't you think that some people don't get  
what they deserve? And if someone does it, would you  
try and get rid of them while wishing you had the guts  
to do the same thing?"  
  
"I guess that's it."  
  
People could ignore a lot of stuff if it helped them  
or they didn't want to see it.  
  
The topic was depressing, though, and Duo was under  
enough stress. Maybe she should change the subject.  
  
"Well, Dave's also starting to change his mind about  
renting more space."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I think he's feeling sorry for me since you hared off  
somewhere."  
  
Duo shook his head.   
  
"What?" she asked. "So what if I'm using this to my  
advantage?"  
  
***  
  
Duo pressed turned the com off. He felt better.  
Getting up and stretching, he looked at all the stuff  
piled around him. **Maybe I should get some sleep.**  
  
One hand reached and scratched the back of his head as  
he headed to the bathroom and got out his toothbrush.  
To many caffeinated beverages had made his teeth feel  
fuzzy.  
  
It was sort of strange that Hilde hadn't reacted to  
who he was interested in. Hilde really did tend to  
worry, and she probably would have made more of a fuss  
after the thing with Heero.  
  
It was only when he turned off the light that it  
occurred to him that not everyone knew Zechs and  
Milliard Peacecraft to be the same person.  
  
***  
  
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!  
  
Duo woke immediately to the noise, already on his feet  
before his brain identified it as an incoming  
communication. He padded over in bare feet, boxers  
displaying yellow smiley faces to his empty single  
room. They'd managed to procure the last vacancies.  
Duo was just glad he didn't have to sleep on the floor  
or in the bathtub of one of his companion's rooms.  
Though sharing a bed wouldn't have been bad.  
  
Flick.  
  
"Yes, Duo Maxwell speaking."  
  
"Maxwell, there's been another killing." Wufei's eyes  
narrowed. "Get dressed, we're leaving now."  
  
He nodded his agreement as the link went dead. **Jees,  
I just woke up after two hours of sleep. What did he  
expect?**  
  
He pulled on a pair of pants and threw on a shirt as  
quickly as possible.  
  
Duo grabbed his gun, tucking it away out of sight.  
After a moments hesitation, he grabbed a pair of  
knives as well before heading for the door.  
  
***  
  
This was the second such scene he'd paid witness to in  
the past few weeks. The other had been a private  
investigator who had found himself a bit too close to  
something or someone. This one had, at one time, been  
the president of Atlantis Enterprises, as well as his  
recently acquired bodyguards. Someone had followed  
through on their threats. Gruesome was probably the  
best adjective to describe it. They hadn't finished  
moving all the bodies.  
  
People swarmed like worker ants, taking pictures,  
documenting evidence, sealing and bagging things away.  
  
Duo took in everything. Three shots fired. Only three.  
Towards the back wall. None had stuck anyone.  
  
At first glance it had seemed that the killer might  
have come in the front and missed, but he knew this  
wasn't the case. One man had died of asphyxiation,  
another with a cut throat, the third had his head  
twisted completely around. Of the one bodyguards, only  
his right arm had been found so far. They were still  
looking.  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
Duo turned to Zechs. "Something got inside without  
them noticing."  
  
He pointed at where the bodies had been positioned. It  
didn't make sense otherwise.  
  
Zechs murmured his agreement. "That's what I thought.  
It's definitely the same killer."  
  
"I'd check to see if there were any shady deals going  
on in the background. I don't think this is random.  
Someone's creating a fence for himself. They got into  
the killer's bad books somehow."  
  
**Someone might even be willing to spill once they  
hear what happened to boss.** Compared to this,  
company loyalty wasn't that big a deal. Offering them  
protection would go a long way to loosening lips if  
the person thought they were next.  
  
***  
  
Samantha Toores, Sammy to her friends, had sweaty  
palms. Many people would have been surprised if she  
had made such an admission at any other time since she  
was loud, outgoing and athletic. Of course, many  
people would have been surprised to find that she  
worked in forensics. A, perhaps unfortunate,  
fascination with mystery novels had lead her away from  
a seemingly sure shot as a professional athlete to  
this.   
  
It was not the disturbing nature of her job that was  
the cause, but her attire. Sammy was so used to things  
like this that it scarcely mattered. Even so, her  
palms were sweating and itchy underneath her gloves.  
  
"Specimen #283," she muttered to herself as she  
labeled. She wasn't even sure what it was. Some sort  
of collector's item probably. The rich had strange  
hobbies. "Art Piece." She sealed the bag shut.  
  
Just a bit longer, then she could blow this joint. She  
and the girls were going out tonight.  
  
***  
  
It was mutually decided that Zechs would be the best  
choice to do most of the interview with the secretary.  
Wufei knew he didn't look old enough to reassure her  
and Duo would have been worse, even if he hadn't gone  
off at the morgue with the coroner to look at the  
bodies.  
  
The room was a sterile white that had probably been  
intended to reassure, but only made everything in it  
look dead and out of place. Wufei watched through the  
video feed as Zechs sat down and nodded his greeting.  
The dark haired woman looked pale, even compared to  
her surroundings, and was biting her lip.  
  
"I'm Preventor Wind, Miss Blake. I'd like to ask you a  
few questions. Are you feeling up to it?"  
  
There was a fractional paused before she bobbed her  
head in a minute nod. Thank the Ancestors that the  
woman was coherent and talking.  
  
Zechs smiled at her gently. "Had anything strange been  
going on recently at work?"  
  
Nod. "Mr. Anderson said that he'd been receiving  
strange calls. That's why he hired the bodyguards. We  
aren't a big company, there'd never been any reason  
before for anything like that."  
  
"Did he inform the police?"  
  
She shook her head. "I don't know. I guess so."  
  
She might not know, but Wufei could guess. Mr.  
Anderson might not be totally innocent himself and  
wouldn't have wanted the scrutiny.  
  
"Do you experience any incidents personally?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"No..." She swallowed. "I just can't believe... He was  
such a nice man, who would want to hurt him?"  
  
"That's what we're trying to find out."  
  
Tap. Tap. Zechs was thinking again. **He's probably  
debating her going over the whole thing again, or just  
asking her to fill in blanks from her story.** The  
first might be too much stress on the woman to be  
useful. The man apparently came to a decision.  
  
"You said in your previous statement that no one but a  
guard entered the room when you started to hear  
noises."  
  
"No, no one was there. The only person who went in was  
Tony, like I said before."  
  
"Are you sure no one else was in there?"  
  
"Yes, I had to get Mr. Anderson to sign for a package  
half an hour before. They made so much fuss about  
scanning it and all it had in it was some old  
antique."  
  
"Who was it from?"  
  
Her knuckles were white.  
  
"I don't remember."  
  
"It's alright. We'll check your records and the  
delivery company's."  
  
Her clinched fists loosened slightly.  
  
"So, you heard something and Tony ran into the room.  
What did you do then?"  
  
"I, I heard shots."  
  
"How many?"  
  
"Two, maybe three."  
  
"Then they started screaming and I... I..."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"God forgive me. I ran," she uttered softly.  
  
***  
  
"That's funny."  
  
The one specimen was missing.  
  
Reggie scratched his head with his index finger. The  
bag with the catalog number was right where it should  
have been. Unfortunately, it was empty.  
  
Damn, someone was probably going to take this out of  
his hide. He was just an errand boy. It wasn't like he  
could argue.  
  
**Well, it's not my mess up and not my problem. I'm  
just moving the stuff to the right room.**  
  
With a shrug, he pushed the cart onward.  
  
***  
  
Nothing, utterly nothing. That was what they had come  
up with. They had suspicions, certainly, but that was  
all.  
  
Duo knew, in his heart and in his gut what was going  
on, but that didn't bring them any closer to where the  
culprits were hiding. Still, it was a good hunt. He  
hadn't had this much challenge in a long time. But his  
prey couldn't keep escaping. Eventually, someone would  
mess up.  
  
But they were under pressure to find the killer now  
from all sides. Both Preventors and civilians had been  
killed. And he knew that they were no longer the only  
team on the operation, just the one with the most  
freedom to act independently.  
  
Days had passed since the third kill and Duo hadn't  
been sleeping very well since. He'd kept dreaming of  
all those strange symbols associated with the Order of  
the Gash. Dreams of red pure enough to make him weep.  
Dreams of golden boxes spinning, glittering, amid the  
stars, drifting into unsuspecting hands. Glittering  
gold... shining platinum...  
  
**Urg. Concentrate.**  
  
Duo was lying on his bed and opened his eyes to the  
ceiling. **Well, that attempt to clear my head  
certainly didn't work very well, did it?**  
  
He knew it was all just out of reach, one piece of the  
puzzle waiting to make everything fall into place.  
  
No, the dreams weren't helping. They were too  
beautiful.  
  
***  
  
"There's been another one."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"L4. First shuttle there is at three. It was Jean  
Mannings."  
  
**L4, huh? And Jean Mannings. That name sounds really  
familiar.** Zechs had obviously expected him to  
recognize it.  
  
"I'll get ready to go."  
  
Duo went to grab his stuff together, but he had one  
thing to do first. Now he remembered where he'd heard  
that before.  
  
Click, click, click, click...  
  
"Hey, Q, how's it going?"  
  
TBC...  
  
NOTES  
  
Well, not really anything to put here this time. Just  
that Miss Blake was named so in honor of Anita Blake,  
Vampire Hunter in spite of their opposite personalities.   
Reggie was so entitled after the character in Phantasm. 


	6. Chapter 5 : Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Bulma Jr - I've seen those more than the 4th movie which   
was a more recent aquisition of mine. And I agree totally,  
they're better if you're interested in the cenobites.  
  
I've only seen one other GW/Hellraiser crossover anywhere, but  
it was only the very beginning and I didn't think it would  
ever be finished. I'm glad you're enjoying thus far :)  
  
  
On with the show...  
  
  
***  
Chapter 5 : Follow the Yellow Brick Road  
***  
  
Where are you going? Where have you been?  
  
\\Follow this road to its end\\  
  
Who are you? What do you want?  
  
\\For just around the bend\\  
  
The road we take shapes us as much as our steps.  
  
\\Waits our destination\\  
  
Where we end up may not be as important as how we got  
there.  
  
***  
  
They arrived at the Winner estates slightly  
bedraggled, having slept on the trip over and gone  
directly to the scene, then here. Some people might  
have been haunted in sleep by the things they had seen  
on this mission, but Wufei had not been bothered by  
it. He already had enough ghosts that there weren't  
room for any more to occupy his attention. Duo,  
however, was apparently not so unaffected and  
continually muttered in his sleep, words that Wufei  
just couldn't quite understand and the distraction  
showed in the bags under his eyes.   
  
Duo waltzed up to the door and rang the bell as Wufei  
pulled his hair back and fixed the ponytail that had  
come loose. The silk strands slipped from his fingers  
yet again, not wanting to stay confined. They had  
already gone past security so the household knew that  
they were coming.  
  
Wufei gritted his teeth and pulled the ponytail out  
yet again, his vision now obscured as his hair  
followed gravity downwards. "Damn it," he muttered  
under his breath. Nothing was working today.  
  
A shape moved at his side. "Do you want me to help  
with that?" Zechs asked.  
  
The stubborn part of him was tempted to say that he  
could do it fine himself, but it was ZECHS and  
obviously he couldn't. And so he was silent as his  
partner took the band from his fingers, skin brushing  
against his. Long elegant fingers snaked through his  
hair, pulling it backwards gently and Wufei felt his  
eyes flicker close. He felt like a cat getting his  
ears scratched.  
  
Flick. The right side of his hair was pulled back,  
then the left. Flick. He felt Zechs twist the band and  
unconsciously leaned backwards.  
  
"There. Is that better?"  
  
"Mmhum." Wufei nodded, humming in the back of his  
throat.  
  
There was a cough and he jerked his eyes open. A  
dignified older man in the suit of an old fashioned  
butler was looking at them disapprovingly. As was Duo,  
whose eyes had narrowed dangerously.  
  
"Master Quatre is waiting for you. If you will follow  
me."  
  
***  
  
It was Trowa who had let them inside, swinging the  
doors to the office wide, Quatre close beside him. It  
was unsurprising how much stuff someone of Quatre's  
connections could dig up in such a short time,  
especially about someone so well know.  
  
Zechs wondered at the unfairness of it all. Jean  
Manning had been an amazing person, dragging her  
family out of dept into a multimillion dollar  
operation in a year as well as spending much of her  
newfound wealth helping the less fortunate results of  
the war. And as far as anyone could tell, she'd kept  
her nose clean.  
  
But there was something that caught his attention.  
"You said that one of the freelance ships she'd hired  
went missing and she was investigating it?"  
  
"Yes. And we think she may have been close to finding  
something."  
  
Quatre exchanged a glace with Trowa at the same time  
he looked over at Wufei and Duo.  
  
The latter voiced what everyone was thinking. "We'll  
just have to find out what."  
  
***  
  
Bremand tapped his foot fretfully. It made a crisp  
sound on the floor below. Things were not working out  
like he'd planned. It seemed those mysterious deaths  
were not as untraceable as he thought. His contact  
within the police department had told him that those  
blasted Preventors had somehow narrowed in on his  
location. They were going to have to move the entire  
operation.  
  
It started a few days ago when the lot had arrived on  
L4 and now they were going to ruin everything.  
  
Tap. Tap.  
  
He walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a glass  
and a bottle. He needed to relax. This train of  
thought circling for what seemed the hundredth time in  
his head was getting him nowhere.  
  
He unstopped the lid, tipping the bottle.  
  
If only he could get to them.  
  
And why not? But so far there had been no opportunity.  
  
He knew exactly what he wanted to do. The others had  
just been business, but these, they would get  
something special. Especially Winner. It was obvious  
he had helped them put the pieces together.  
  
He closed his eyes, picturing it, smiling. He had  
thought this so many times before. It was always the  
Winners, with their hold over the whole area that held  
him back. He pictured the little blond brat strung up  
by his fingernails with satisfaction, smiling. No, how  
about actual crucifixion...  
  
The list when on, a ritual he'd participated in too  
many time of late.  
  
Behind him, on his desk, something moved, but he  
couldn't see it. Bremand had his eyes closed.  
  
***  
  
They'd narrowed down the area with the notes left  
behind by Ms. Manning. The destruction of her office  
had not taken everything with her and, thanks to  
Quatre's resources, they were monitoring the area for  
signals constantly. Anything to give away their prey.  
  
Zechs silently gave thanks to the woman. She had  
already done most of the work here, allowing them to  
put together everything they already knew.  
  
Trowa's head quirked to the side. "I have something."  
One hand reached up and put on the speakers, allowing  
the rest of the room to hear.  
  
"Help me."  
  
The voice was coarse, as if from too much use.   
  
"Please, help me."  
  
The voice continued to whisper its plea, turning  
eventually into mere unintelligible whimpers before  
dying altogether.  
  
There was no visual picture. The five looked at each  
other.  
  
"Can you pinpoint the location?"  
  
Trowa nodded at Zechs.   
  
***  
  
Like the filaments of a spider's web, the Preventor's  
spread throughout the ship. What they found was  
unexpected. Nothing. Or perhaps it should have been  
expected at this point. At least, that's how it was  
for a few minutes.  
  
"Sir? You should take a look at this." Zechs turned to  
the source of the voice. The face was unfamiliar, but  
the woman's tone of shock he knew all too well.  
Everything about this case had been strange.  
  
"Yes?" He answered.  
  
"They've found the kitchen. There's still food  
cooking. It's like they just decided to vanish into  
thin air."  
  
"They probably knew we were coming," he replied, but  
that didn't explain the other oddities. Like why a  
distress call had been given, the same distress signal  
that had led the Preventors right too them. Why  
abandon such a ship? It was clearly a base of  
operations, much like Peacemillion had been.  
  
He saw Trowa gesture the pilots over to where he was  
observing the progress of the takeover. With a polite  
nod to his fellow Preventor, he went to join them.  
  
"They've managed to search the entire place. As far as  
we can tell, it's been abandoned and there don't seem  
to be any traps."  
  
Wufei narrowed his eyes at Trowa. "Are you sure that  
this is their base? Maybe it's another ship they've  
attacked."  
  
"It's possible, but why would they leave something so  
valuable just floating here? It's worth a fortune as  
scrap alone."  
  
"Hm."  
  
"About half of the computer systems seem to be down,  
though all the important ones are still functioning.  
The one engine is dead." A single green eye swept over  
them. "The weapons on board are all functional."  
  
That could only mean one of two things. That there had  
been a traitor onboard, or it had been abandoned. If  
the ship had been attacked, those would be the first  
things to be knocked out.  
  
Quatre placed his hand on Trowa's shoulder, as if to  
reassure himself with the contact. "I have a bad  
feeling, there's something there that shouldn't be.  
Something..."  
  
Having heard from Wufei about Quatre's strange talent  
in this area, Zechs was unsurprised. He had to admit,  
he had a bad feeling too.  
  
Duo spoke up. "Well, I'd like a chance to try and get  
their computers up and running. Maybe there's  
something there that will tell us what happened."  
  
"For once, Maxwell, you have a good idea." Duo turned  
a dark look in Wufei's direction, but seemed to let  
the implied insult slide in exchange for support.  
  
"If we bring the ship in, it will give us time to  
investigate. And I don't think all these people can be  
spared for much longer. With the weapons functioning,  
we should have no trouble taking care of ourselves."  
  
Wufei nodded at Zechs. "I'll contact Lady Une."  
  
***  
  
"Man, it looks like someone took a hammer to it. We're  
lucky that the life support is still working if this  
is how all the computers are." The machine in question  
was going to be a challenge to repair, and one Duo  
knew he couldn't resist. Most importantly, the memory  
appeared to be intact. "Well, I'll have to see what I  
can do with you."  
  
Muttering to the empty room, Duo flopped himself down  
onto the floor and leaned inwards to get a closer  
look. He was careful not to touch, not wanting to hurt  
both himself and the computer at this point. "Hm,  
maybe someone DID take a hammer to it." Parts had  
literally been smashed or ripped out and scattered  
across the floor. Though why anyone would want to  
damage such a beautiful device he didn't know. This  
was obviously the property of the head of this place.  
  
He peered inside again. "What in hell?"  
  
Ignoring his own rule not to touch, he reached and  
pulled the black chain out, careful not to damage  
anything else as he unhooked the barbed end. This was  
difficult, since there were three splayed in different  
directions. **Well, I know what did the damage now.  
Fuck.**  
  
He dangled it in front of his face with his left hand.  
It was cool to the touch. The end appeared rusted. He  
reached up and touched it with his right. Something  
flaked off. **That ain't rust.**  
  
//Black in black eyes stared at him. Faces pale as  
death, and screaming. "This is not for you to see."//  
  
His hand gripped convulsively.  
  
"Ow. Shit." Blood dripped onto the floor and he  
dropped the chain that had dug itself into his hand.  
"It bit me."  
  
Duo levered himself to his feet with his good hand,  
clenching his right one in pain. **Hm, maybe I could  
get Zechs to kiss it better.** With that thought, he  
went to hunt down his fellows for medical attention.  
He glared once again at the offending chain before  
leaving. **Okay, I hope this doesn't mean I've been  
right.**  
  
He turned away, not noticing as the blood seemed to  
vanish into the floor beneath it, as did the metal  
links, melting into oblivion.  
  
***  
  
"Um, guys. Where did we put the medical kit?"  
  
Three heads turned in his direction. Zechs looked at  
his injured hand in concern. "Oh, Duo, what did you  
do?"  
  
"Yes, what did you do? We've only been here two  
hours!" Wufei was ignored by everyone else.  
  
"I just cut myself. I don't think it's too serious.  
But I'm still weirded out by what cut me."  
  
"I'll be right back." Quatre ran off to get bandages.  
Trowa stood up and let Duo sit in his place.   
  
"I was looking at the computer up in the boss' place.  
It was in pretty bad shape, like something had smashed  
it up."  
  
Zechs nodded and gestured for him to give him his  
hand. "Let me see this first. I do know some first  
aid, after all."  
  
Duo winced as he opened his hand. Moving it wasn't fun  
as the skin stretched apart more.  
  
"It's not really that bad, but since it's on your hand  
it's probably going to hurt. You're going to keep  
moving it without thinking."  
  
Duo saw Quatre return and the boy handed Zechs a  
bottle of antiseptic. The blond man pored it onto the  
cut and Duo winced as the liquid bubbled. Zechs put  
several adhesive strips to keep the wound closed.  
  
"There, done."  
  
"Thanks." He smiled into blue eyes. Zechs smiled back.  
  
"No trouble at all. You were saying?"  
  
"Oh, yeah." He struggled to regain his train of  
thought. "Anyway, I was looking at the computer, which  
is going to need a ton of repairs if we're going to  
get anything out of it, by the way, and I, well, I  
found something stuck in it. An iron chain. I mean,  
what is some sort of medieval torture reject doing in  
something like that? Unless he was into really kinky,  
painful sex, I have no idea."  
  
Wufei was shaking his head. Zechs, Trowa and Quatre  
were just looking at him.  
  
***  
  
"Damn, where'd it go?"  
  
Besides various electrical components, the floor was  
bare around the area Duo had centered on. Trowa  
listened with half an ear to Duo as the Deathsythe  
pilot muttered and swore, intent on his own search of  
the premises while the others, excluding Wufei,  
watched Duo expectantly. The Chinese man had called  
the entire thing a waste of time and was still up in  
the main control room working.  
  
There was a desk, which was where the computer's main  
controls appeared to be situated. Duo was digging  
through the cupboard behind it, which hid the actual  
device. In front of the desk were what seemed to be  
the remains of several chairs. The walls were lined  
with more bookshelves and furniture, but overall the  
effect was Spartan. The previous owner had obviously  
not been a large fan of comfort versus functionality.  
The room did not seem to have much personality at all.  
  
Something on the floor caught his eye. It appeared to  
have fallen from one of the shelves and was utterly  
out of place with the rest of the room. A delicate  
looking antique box, worked in black and gold. He bent  
and picked it up. Up close, the work was just as fine  
as it had appeared from a distance. Strange, for it to  
be in a place like this.  
  
Nothing else seemed to be of interest, though he noted  
several places in the room used for guards to keep out  
of sight.  
  
"I swore it was right here!" Duo was apparently giving  
up in defeat.  
  
Trowa walked with the box back to his companions as  
Duo tugged on his braid in consternation.   
  
"Notice anything, Trowa?" Quatre asked, turning in his  
direction. Trowa offered his lover the box, but he  
tore his hand back as if bitten when he touched it.  
  
"What's wrong?" He reached out with his other hand in  
concern and could feel the blond shiver under his  
touch.  
  
Quatre's reaction, however, had nothing on Duo's.  
Zechs' eyes had widened when he caught sight of it,  
but he didn't have the chance to be astonished as Duo  
jumped backwards and fell into him. Trowa wondered  
what they knew that he didn't.  
  
"Is that what I think it is? Please say I'm wrong."  
Duo asked shakily.  
  
"Maybe your theory wasn't so crazy after all."  
  
Trowa knew he would have to get them to explain, but  
Quatre hadn't stopped shivering yet, so he set the box  
down and hugged him close until it stopped.  
  
***  
  
"I've found something," Wufei said as someone entered  
the control room. He looked up. Even Duo had returned  
from his quest, but he seemed pale and shaken. Of  
course, the way he was clinging to Zechs did nothing  
for Wufei's mood.  
  
"What happened?" he asked almost with resignation.  
Despite his bad mood, it was difficult to keep his  
anger up continuously.  
  
It was Zechs to answered him. "You remember the  
information on the Gash that Duo received? Trowa found  
something that bears a remarkable resemblance to one  
of the artifact descriptions."  
  
He looked at Trowa, who had his arm thrown over one of  
Quatre's shoulders. Trowa said nothing.  
  
"So we are looking in the right place then." It was  
obvious that whoever it was was obsessed with these  
demons. It was surprising that someone would go to  
such lengths, but people like that weren't necessarily  
the most sane.  
  
Duo was looking at him, apparently shocked at his  
acceptance of the situation. **He probably thinks it  
really is demons.** Wufei shrugged. He had more  
important things to worry about.  
  
"I've managed to find the original distress message.  
It seems most of it didn't get sent, something garbled  
the message and the lack of visual in the one we  
received."  
  
He gestured for the group to gather around the small  
screen that was still intact and began playing the  
message.  
  
//This is the Prometheus. We are at position 83x9x12  
and are in need of assistance.//  
  
The voice shook slightly and the man on the screen was  
sweating.  
  
//I repeat. This is the Prometheus. We are at position  
83x9x12 and are in need of immediate assistance.//  
  
There was a clatter as several people ran into the  
room and the door shut with a woosh.  
  
The message continued recording despite the  
distraction.  
  
//What is it?//  
  
//Block the door!//  
  
//You have a hand welder?//  
  
//Quick man, move. They've got half the ship!//  
  
//What!//  
  
//Hurry, move it.//  
  
//Fuck, go faster.//  
  
//I repeat, this is the Prometheus. We are under  
attack. We are at position 83x9x12. They're inside the  
ship. We don't know how they got in.//  
  
//Oh shit.//  
  
The picture went dark as the lights flickered out. The  
man was lit now by the eerie changing colors of  
buttons and computer readouts. Now instead of shaking,  
his voice cracked with fear.  
  
//83x9x12, we are under attack. Someone, please  
respond.//  
  
//They're getting through.//  
  
There was a grown of overstressed metal. The man in  
the picture turned and his eyes widened in horror at  
the unseen intruder.  
  
//We'll surrender to the Preventors, just, please,  
someone respond.//  
  
//Oh, God.//  
  
The man in the picture fell backwards and the picture  
dissolved into static. The sound however, continued.  
Even as seasoned soldiers, the groups winced and  
Quatre looked a bit green as screams were abruptly cut  
off. The rest of the message was familiar, as the  
pleas drifted into silence.  
  
//Help me. Someone. Please help me...//  
  
Wufei cut the message off.  
  
***  
  
Duo bit back a nervous giggle. "Did anyone else find  
that immensely disturbing?"  
  
Quatre nodded. "I agree with you. Whatever happened  
here was horrible, and left almost no evidence."  
  
Wufei shook his head and pointed to the door. "Not  
quite. You can see where they tried to weld the door  
shut. They didn't get very far though. Plus, the  
camera was destroyed."  
  
Zechs moved away from Duo to inspect the damage. "Do  
you think they have any surveillance records? That  
should tell us exactly what happened."  
  
"Probably, the question is where and how we can access  
them."  
  
Duo interrupted before Wufei could continue. "I bet I  
could access them if I can get that computer in the  
office working. If it belonged to the big boss, he'd  
want to be able to watch what was going on."  
  
Wufei nodded almost imperceptibly. Duo knew that was  
all the approval he was going to get from that end.  
  
"Don't worry, 'Fei. Have faith. I'm good at that sort  
of thing."  
  
"Actually, you aren't doing it right now."  
  
Duo turned to Zechs in shock. "What? What do you mean?  
We need this as fast as possible."  
  
"I know. But how long has it been since you've slept?"  
  
"A while," he muttered in return. He could go longer  
than a few days without sleep, it wasn't a big deal.  
He wanted to get at this.  
  
Zechs, however, apparently disagreed. "You'll do it  
faster if you're actually awake. You've hurt yourself  
already and I'm sure it's because you're overtired."  
  
The platinum blond drew himself to his full height,  
which towered over most of the others save Trowa, and  
seemed to slip back into officer mode unconsciously.  
  
"You will get some sleep. I want at least half of us  
totally aware at all times. No one is going to be left  
by themselves."  
  
Zechs turned from Duo to Trowa. "I think you should go  
with Quatre and Duo," obviously realizing that Trowa's  
presence would make Quatre feel better and Quatre's  
presence would make Duo actually attempt to rest if  
only for his sake.  
  
Trowa nodded and looked at Duo expectantly. Zechs was  
right, of course, but that didn't make this any  
easier.  
  
"Fine, I'll work on it tomorrow."  
  
Zechs smiled at him this time. "Thanks, Duo."  
  
Well, if he put it that way, Duo knew he couldn't  
fight blue eyes like those.  
  
***  
  
Zechs pinched the bridge of his nose. He was probably  
just as tired as he had accused Duo of being.  
  
"Anything you want me to work on?" he asked Wufei. His  
partner had been touchy of late so letting him lead  
might be best. They didn't need any more hard feelings  
between them.  
  
To his surprise, a smile answered him. "Well, you  
could help me out over here. I need an extra set of  
hands."  
  
"Certainly."  
  
The silence between them was more comfortable than it  
had been since the start of this case. It was a  
pleasant feeling.  
  
***  
  
Wufei was smiling. Zechs had chosen to stay with him  
instead of Duo. It made up for the idiot's clinginess  
earlier by a long shot as well as the recording.  
  
"Hold this here."  
  
"Yes, alright"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He closed the panel and punched a few entries into the  
keypad. Lights flicked on reading green.  
  
"Much better."  
  
If anything his smile got larger.  
  
TBC...  
  
NOTES  
  
How does this make sense if Bremand never opened the box?  
Firstly, from "Dance of the Fetus" in Cliver Barker's  
Hellraiser Book 1, Alice's repeated thoughts of suidide  
called Mr. Soul. Why couldn't thoughts about others do  
the same thing?  
Secondly, according to CONCEPTS & GUIDELINES FOR A HORROR   
ANTHOLOGY SERIES:  
"Each box is unique for each person, a different puzzle requiring  
a different solution, a solution that is a RITUAL."  
I just made the ritual bend more towards thoughts instead of  
the puzzle in this case. There are many ways to summon Hell,  
not just the box. It's simply the easiest. DESIRE is the key.  
  
Other things  
The ship's name is taken both from the Titan who gave fire to man,  
but disobeyed the Gods to do it, and Babylon 5, where it was  
the ship to start the Earth-Minbari war that almost destroyed  
humanity.  
  
"I just wanted to mention, for those who have asked, that absolutely  
nothing whatsoever happened today in sector 83x9x12. I repeat,  
nothing happened. Please remain calm." -- Susan Ivanova, B5 


	7. Chapter 6 : Dreams and Nightmares

***  
Chapter 6 : Dreams and Nightmares  
***  
  
There was once a man who found himself in a place  
where dreams came true. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?  
  
\\I dream of you.\\  
  
You would think he would be happy, but he wasn't. He  
went mad.  
  
\\Do you dream of me?\\  
  
For what can you do then if dreams become nightmares?  
Nightmares you can't wake up from.  
  
***  
  
Duo ran. His frame slim from malnutrition, he had no  
trouble darting between people into the alley.  
  
"Thief! Stop that damn kid!"  
  
As if that would help. He knew they were already too  
late, this was his home territory. There was an exit,  
a crawl-hole at the end of the alley to aid his  
escape. Not that many would follow him in here.  
  
Matted hair streaming behind him, he splashed through  
puddles and dodged piles of garbage and rotting  
refuse, prize safe in hand. It's not like its previous  
owner would care about it as much as he would. His  
fingers looped about the purse possessively. This  
would mean he would eat this week.  
  
When it became obvious that no pursuit would be  
forthcoming, he slowed his pace. Without the pounding  
of his feet, he noticed the eerie silence. There were  
no drips of water, no rustle of garbage, no vehicles  
humming and screeching. He stopped and looked around.  
Everything was as still as death.  
  
His heart beat in counterpoint to every breath,  
unnaturally loud, but it was not from fear. With no  
one around he was safer than he had ever been.  
  
A door creaked. The sound was so sudden, Duo jumped,  
trying to locate it. He noticed the door to his right,  
a pealing layer of red paint revealing the faded gray  
beneath. Duo wondered how he had not noticed it  
before. His thoughts were cut off, however, as it  
swung open, moved by an invisible hand, beckoning him  
inside. Beyond was blackness, but if he got just a bit  
closer...  
  
He should leave. Whatever was behind that door was  
none of his business. But, then he'd never know what  
he missed. The purse in his hands was forgotten in  
spite of his crushing grip.  
  
He walked closer.  
  
At first he saw nothing, eyes blinded by the relative  
brightness outside. There was nothing to focus on,  
nothing to draw his attention, except the pull to  
know. A guttural moan reached his ears. Suddenly, the  
world became clear.  
  
A man swung, suspended from the ceiling above, his  
arms pulled outwards in mockery of the crucifixion,  
head lolling to the side. His eyes begging, painfully,  
pleading for help. The other figures were vague  
outlines, barely lighter than the surrounding  
darkness, all save one. Pale skin stood in stark  
relief, dark eyes turning towards him, the void of  
space without stars, the draw of a black hole.  
  
"This is not for you to see."  
  
Invisible hands jerked him backwards and the door  
slammed shut inches from his face. The door wouldn't  
open. The purse fell from aching fingers.   
  
As if a signal, the quiet nothingness ended when it  
struck the ground. Noises buzzed. They pushed inside  
his skull.  
  
Duo's eyes narrowed. The chipped red paint was still  
there, mocking him, secrets locked on the other side.  
He reached a hand out. But that hand was larger,  
fingernails clean and cut. His hair now pulled back  
from his face in a familiar braid. The passing years  
had also brought him greater strength. He pushed.  
  
At first there was nothing, then the door inched open.  
Something fought to keep him out, but he would not  
allow it. He would get inside.  
  
It swung open and, surprisingly, he did not fall from  
the lack of opposition. Triumph surged threw him as he  
stepped inside to the scents of blood and fear.  
  
The man's face was shadowed now, but his outline  
seemed different. Some strands of long hair shimmered.  
He moved towards them.  
  
The cool, impassive face turned once again towards  
him. Silver glinted, not from the light of the  
doorway, but from the blue radiance that emanated from  
no where he could sense. It outlined the glittering  
pins.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
What did he want? There were so many answers, too  
many. He settled on the one that came closest to the  
truth. With a smile that held too many teeth to be  
considered friendly, he replied.  
  
"Everything."  
  
The smile was returned, a smile that should have been  
frightening, but seemed strangely fitting in this  
place of shadows.  
  
"There are such things we can show you."  
  
Behind him, the door began closing. The room darkened.  
The man looked up at him, bloody and white, pleading  
in his eyes clearly evident. To escape before his only  
exit was cut off forever. The face faded from view as  
the room was filled only by the vague illumination of  
moonbeams and dreamscapes.  
  
Duo stepped forward again. It was no surprise that the  
face was his own.  
  
"Show me, then."  
  
***  
  
It was dark, but voices twittered like overactive  
birds. Their noise, however, was not so beautiful or  
pure.  
  
"Murderer."  
  
"I've been waiting for you."  
  
"Wouldn't your father be so proud?"  
  
"Killer. Bastard."  
  
"See how you like it."  
  
"For OZ!"  
  
"For the Alliance!"  
  
"For Trieze!"  
  
"Are you any better than the rest of us?"  
  
Quatre looked around. If there were people, they  
blended in well with the surrounding shadows. He bit  
his lower lip.  
  
"We're here thanks to you."  
  
"You'll join us soon."  
  
"Yes, soon. Too late for you."  
  
"Too late for everyone."  
  
"No one can help you here."  
  
"Not so tough without your Gundam."  
  
A faint light caught his eye in the distance. He ran  
towards it, ignoring the sounds around him and the  
occasional brush of questing hands and fingers and he  
rushed by. They were all so cold. The light grew  
bigger.  
  
It was Duo. He was alone. The object in his hands  
shone, creating a halo of golden color, a sanctuary.  
It was too bright too look at directly. There were no  
voices to torment him here. Relief flooded him. Quatre  
walked forward and touched his shoulder. Duo shifted  
and looked towards him smiling.  
  
"Hey, Quatre. What are you doing here?"  
  
It was a good question. He wasn't entirely sure,  
but...  
  
"I think I was looking for you."  
  
"Oh, that's good. I'm glad you found me, Q-man. I've  
got something for you. Here."  
  
Duo offered him the light, the light that seemed to  
ward off his demons. He took it.  
  
The sharp square edged dug into his hand. Now he could  
see, it was the box Duo had found, the box that had  
given him such dark premonitions.  
  
"Thank you," he replied for the sake of politeness.  
  
"Now, remember, you'll have to share."  
  
"I will."  
  
"Good." Duo's smile turned into a sneer, his face  
draining of color. In his hands, the box twisted like  
a snake, but he hung onto it as dark wings sprang from  
Duo's back. They were like those of demons, and his  
eyes were cruel. A drop of blood dripped from the  
corner of his mouth.  
  
Pain flared in his hands. The box was no longer,  
instead it formed a perfect diamond, one spike of  
which dug into his palm. It fell from his limp  
fingers.  
  
The light went out.  
  
Duo was laughing at him.  
  
"Ours."  
  
"No protections now."  
  
"Mine."  
  
"Mine."  
  
Hands grabbed at him from all directions. Cold hands,  
dead hands, tearing at him, touching him.  
  
"Join us."  
  
"Like us."  
  
"Murderer."  
  
"Killer."  
  
"Monster."  
  
Another hand brushed his cheek gently, lingeringly.  
Duo's voice spoke above all the others. "I'm glad you  
saw things my way. I'll give your best to Trowa."  
  
And Quatre knew just what he meant. And screamed.  
  
***  
  
"Sh. It's just a dream." Trowa stroked his hand  
comfortingly threw Quatre's hair as the blond clung to  
him.  
  
Duo remained oblivious to the commotion, smiling and  
digging even farther under the covers of the other  
bed.  
  
"We can't let him near that puzzle. Something bad is  
going to happen."  
  
Remembering how upset Quatre had been by it earlier,  
the statement wasn't surprising.  
  
"We'll ask him when he wakes up."  
  
Quatre smiled at him. "I don't know what I'd do  
without you. How do you put up with me?"  
  
Trowa just looked at him. How could he not? Quatre was  
the best thing that had ever happened in his life.  
  
"Go back to sleep. I'll be right here. Nothing will  
happen."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Quatre cuddled into his chest and closed his eyes.  
Trowa glanced over at Duo, who was murmuring in his  
sleep. **I wonder what he's dreaming of.** Whatever it  
was, it was certainly more pleasant than Quatre's  
nightmare.  
  
***  
  
"You want me to what?"  
  
"Just don't touch it."  
  
Duo looked at Quatre in disbelief. What harm would  
touching it do? It wasn't like he was planning on  
solving it.  
  
"Duo, I'm serious."  
  
Quatre gave him a LOOK. No one could resist Q when he  
was in one of these moods. It must come from years of  
practice manipulating his large family. How else could  
one survive twenty-nine sisters? He could feel himself  
crumple.  
  
"Fine, fine. But what do you want to do with it?"  
  
Another voice spoke up. "Some people are trying to get  
some sleep!"  
  
Wufei was apparently in a huff again, though even Duo  
couldn't blame him given how long he'd gone without  
sleep. Zechs had already nodded off. The argument was  
not enough to keep him awake.  
  
He contemplated going out of the room to finish the  
conversation when Wufei raised an eyebrow at them. "If  
you're that worried, I'll take the blasted thing. Just  
make Maxwell stop yapping."  
  
Quatre smiled and Duo dug the box out. He gave it to  
Wufei. A part of him screamed, **Mine! Mine!** but he  
ignored it.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Hm..."  
  
Quatre turned and left, waiting with Trowa just  
outside the door. Wufei glared at him again and Duo  
soon followed suit as Wufei set the box down beside  
his bed. He cast one last look at it, then at where  
Zechs' face was relaxed in repose. It was time to get  
to work.  
  
***  
  
Days had passed since the box had first been  
discovered. Duo had almost succeeded in repairing the  
computer, in spite of delays when the last engine of  
the ship had broken down and it had taken all of them  
to repair it enough to continue on there way to the  
colony. Of course, since they couldn't go as fast, it  
would take even more time to reach it. They had no  
other trouble on the ship, and now were often working  
by themselves, though they still slept in shifts with  
someone always in the main control room. Duo himself  
was thankful for the breakdown. It would give him more  
time to investigate other things. There had been no  
news of other attacks or anything out of the ordinary  
elsewhere. He was certain that the secret lay on this  
ship. Plus, the sleeping schedules had switched so he  
was on shift with Zechs.  
  
As if the thought of his name was a summons, the door  
opened and the blond Preventor entered. Duo smiled up  
at him.  
  
"Hey, Zechsy."  
  
"Hello, Duo. How is it coming?"  
  
"Not too badly. In fact, I'm almost done."  
  
"Do you want some help?"  
  
He hated to say it, but he had to. "Well, actually..."  
  
Zechs smiled instead of the taking offense. "I  
understand completely. I'll just get in the way."  
  
"Sorry, man, but an extra pair of hands..." Duo  
shrugged, but was glad the man had understood. "So,  
what are you doing here anyway?"  
  
"I've just finished going through things in their  
medical wing. Hopefully, it will allow us to identify  
people. I actually recognized a few." At this there  
was a sorrowful sigh.   
  
Duo raised an eyebrow at him, before going back to  
connect the last few wires.  
  
Zechs continued. "There were some ex-White Fang  
members, as well as OZ soldiers. I just didn't want to  
be by myself for a while. I can't concentrate anyway.  
You don't mind, do you?"  
  
**And turn down your company? I don't think so,** he  
thought, but didn't speak it aloud. Instead, he said,  
"Not at all. Can't have you moping all by yourself."  
  
Duo stood up and brushed himself, stretching out  
kinked muscles. "Anyway, I'm finished... I hope. This  
had better work."  
  
"I have utter confidence that you have succeeded, or  
will eventually."  
  
He swallowed. "Thanks a bunch. Here goes nothing."  
  
He closed his eyes, scrunching them shut and flipped  
the power on. There was a pleasant hum in response.  
Quirking open one eye, Duo was relieved to find that  
everything appeared to be in working order. He also  
noticed Zechs smiling at his antics. The man really  
did have a nice smile. He should do it more often. And  
he would, if Duo had anything to say about it.  
  
"Well, we're now done the easy part. Now we just have  
to break past his security."  
  
"If we can't get it, the Preventors have some of the  
best computer experts around."  
  
"Yeah, we're two of them."  
  
Zechs gave him a quizzical look.  
  
"They've asked me to do stuff like this before, and  
I'm sure you've done it a time or two yourself."  
  
"I'm sure you have, I just don't know why you were  
including me in your assessment."  
  
"You mean they don't! Idiots." Zechs was obviously the  
brains behind many of the very advanced systems that  
had been salvaged from the lost White Fang base. Some  
that were still not fully understood and Duo wished he  
could get his hands on to study.  
  
"I'm generally considered more... an action taker."  
  
"So, you mean to tell me that you are a complete ditz  
when it comes to computers? Come on. I have friends in  
the Sweepers and they've got stuff from your old base.  
I know the scientists had nothing to do with the  
improved Zero System and mobile doll deployment and  
somehow I don't think that other guy... Quinze, had  
the brains to do it."  
  
Zechs' eyes shadowed and Duo mentally yelled at  
himself for bringing up more old, bad memories. He had  
to say something, anything, to distract him.  
  
"So, I was wondering if you could help me?"  
  
He smiled his most winning smile, willing the pain to  
vanish.  
  
It didn't completely, but he could see Zechs fold  
under the assault.  
  
"If you're sure."  
  
"'Course I'm sure. I mean, you know I can't get enough  
of you. It's the perfect excuse to have you locked up  
all alone with me." He shook his finger at the  
ex-soldier, speaking with mock sternness. "It will  
probably be very difficult, we might be in here for  
days."  
  
Zechs held up both hands in surrender. "I can't win  
with you."  
  
Duo responded by sticking his tongue out. He was sure  
that the next few days would be pleasant ones.  
  
"Incorrigible. Absolutely incorrigible."  
  
"Oh, you know you like me the way I am."  
  
Pause.  
  
"Yes, I suppose I do."  
  
***  
  
"I'm leaving."  
  
"Heero? You're leaving. Why?"  
  
There was no reply. Heero simply walked away from him  
and picked up his bags. There were few. Without a  
second glance, he walked out the door. Duo stared for  
a moment, then ran after him.  
  
"Heero?!?"  
  
He went out the door. Heero was gone, no where to be  
found. He ran aimlessly, searching for him, but there  
was no trace.  
  
He spotted Hilde on the corner. "Hilde, have you seen  
Heero?"  
  
"He's left you, has he? I told you he would."  
  
"But..."  
  
But he knew she hadn't. She'd encouraged him at every  
turn with the silent boy. Hadn't she?  
  
"Didn't you know? Everyone leaves you. I'll stay as  
long as I can, but I can't promise anything. I have  
things to do too, you know?"  
  
He studied his best friend. She was staring out into  
the distance, not even looking at him.  
  
"Hilde, you can't leave me."  
  
"You haven't been listening. It's just a matter of  
time."  
  
Then she simply wasn't there any more, like the earth  
had swallowed her up. He knew that he'd never see her  
again. Tears ran down his cheeks. Wiping them off with  
his sleeve, he looked around. There was something  
familiar about this street, though it was not one that  
should have run outside his home. He needed help, but  
didn't know where to get it.  
  
There was a church at the end of the road. If he ever  
needed guidance, or familiar surroundings, it was now.  
He made his way towards it.  
  
"Hello, Duo. Come in."  
  
Sister Helen opened the door. His eyes widened, but  
she seemed unsurprised at his presence.  
  
She handed him a handkerchief. "You look a right mess.  
Would you like me to fix your hair?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
He sat down in the empty church and she pulled out a  
brush, seemingly from nowhere.   
  
"You always used to hate this," she reminisced as she  
pulled through the brown mass. "But you have to look  
your best. Your young man is coming over for dinner."  
  
"He is?" Duo hid his confusion with the question.  
  
"Yes, of course. You didn't think I wouldn't like to  
meet him?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Don't be silly." She tied off the braid. "You have to  
make the best of it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I mean, you can't expect him to stay, can you?"  
  
The doorbell rang. Funny, he didn't remember the  
church having a doorbell.  
  
"That should be him now." Sister Helen rose to her  
feet and answered the door.  
  
Zechs was there in formal wear, holding a bouquet of  
roses, red ones. He looked good, really good. The suit  
was obviously tailored just for him, accenting his  
height and his broad shoulders.  
  
"Hello, Sister. Is Duo here?"  
  
"Yes, he is indeed."  
  
Duo came to the door. "Zechs?"  
  
"Hello, Duo." Zechs reached into his pocket and pulled  
out a letter. "This is for you. I have to run, Wufei  
is expecting me."  
  
He grasped the paper tightly, it threatened to crumple  
under his fingers.  
  
Zechs bowed. "It was nice to meet you, Sister."  
  
"You too, Mr. Merquise."  
  
The door closed as Zechs hurried off, intent on his  
date with Wufei.  
  
"Well, wasn't that nice?"  
  
Duo didn't answer her, he looked instead to the  
letter. It was from Heero.  
  
//Maxwell,  
  
Relena and I are getting married.  
  
Heero//  
  
He balled the paper together and tossed it to the  
ground. Duo looked around, but the church was now  
empty. He stepped outside.  
  
Blackness covered him, with only a faint sliver of  
moon. He wondered why he was on Earth.  
  
"Do you want to see?"  
  
He searched for the voice, calling out after it, but  
there was no trace of the speaker. Nothing, no one,  
anywhere. He was alone.  
  
The darkness was there for a long time. He couldn't  
find the way out.  
  
***  
  
Duo was crying in his sleep. Wufei thought about just  
leaving him to suffer, but he couldn't be that cruel,  
even if it was Maxwell. Even if he didn't like the way  
Maxwell hung off Zechs, how he wanted to growl at the  
other man and tell him to back off. But he had too  
much experience with nightmares to condemn him. Still,  
waking him might be dangerous, as he also knew from  
experience.  
  
"Maxwell, wake up," he called as loudly he dared with  
Zechs also asleep. "Maxwell..."  
  
Well, it wasn't like the other was armed. He'd just  
have to be careful. Wufei got up and walked to the  
other bed, putting his hand on Duo's shoulder and  
shaking him, alert for any adverse reaction.  
  
A hand shot out, but he grabbed Maxwell's wrist he  
could do anything. "Maxwell, it was a dream."  
  
Duo was blinking sleep from his eyes. "A dream? Thank  
God."  
  
"So you aren't going to try to kill me?"  
  
"No, sorry, 'Fei."  
  
"Humph. I'm going back to bed."  
  
He went back across the cold floor, and pulled the  
covers back up. His breathing became more rhythmic as  
he got closer to sleep. He may have been  
hallucinating, but he swore he could hear something  
just before drifting off.  
  
"Thank you, Wufei."  
  
***  
  
"Are you alright, Duo?" Zechs asked with concern.  
  
"I'm alright. I just didn't sleep well. Had a  
nightmare."  
  
Zechs nodded his understanding. He'd had his share of  
nights like those. The past had haunted him since the  
age of six when he'd witnessed his parent's  
assassination firsthand. Still, it was disturbing how  
Duo kept looking at him like he expected him to  
vanish.  
  
They had worked hard on cracking the security system  
for the past few days. It was taking longer than  
anticipated. Whoever had done the coding was both  
brilliant and creative. And, whoever owned the  
computer was very, very paranoid.  
  
**Didn't want us to be able to get evidence off it in  
case something like this happened.**  
  
Which was why the two had spent the past few days in  
each other's company. Not that this was a bad thing.  
  
Duo interrupted his train of thought. "I'm such an  
idiot. Of course."  
  
Zechs watched him act on his inspiration, fingers  
flying. Comprehension dawned. It really was so simple,  
it was amazing they hadn't seen it before.  
  
They looked at each other as the computer welcomed  
them.  
  
"Good morning, William," it said in an artificial  
female voice.  
  
Duo proceeded to make the computer recognize both  
Zechs and himself as 'William', whoever he was.  
  
Zechs watched as Duo's face animated in delight at  
their accomplishment.  
  
"Okay, sister, let's see what you've got."  
  
***  
  
"Information unavailable."  
  
"Damn."  
  
"Physical abnormalities detected."  
  
The screen lit up with a schematic of a part of the  
ship, damaged areas showing in red. It seemed that one  
of those areas was where the data storage for the  
surveillance was.  
  
Zechs leaned over his shoulder. "Search for backup."  
  
"Unavailable. Physical abnormalities detected."  
  
Duo shook his head. All that work wasted. They might  
never know what really happened.  
  
"Where would we need to fix to get the information?"  
he asked the computer.  
  
"Damage is to surveillance data storage areas. It is  
likely irretrievable."  
  
Zechs looked down at him with a half-smile. "Well, so  
much for that idea."  
  
"Yeah." He resisted the urge to kick the machine.  
"You'd think he'd have had more than one back up."  
  
"We'll just have to do without. I'm sure there's other  
information on here. It's not a total loss."  
  
"Yes, you're right. We'll just have to see what else  
is on this baby."  
  
"Especially what was recently accessed. That's more  
likely to tell us something."  
  
"'Kay. Display recently accessed files."  
  
A list scrolled down the screen of the last hundred  
files the previous owner had used. Some of the names  
looked familiar.  
  
Duo clicked on one of them, the one that read 'Midas  
Mining Station'. "I've never heard of this place."  
  
Zechs nodded his agreement. "Neither have I, but there  
are so many small stations springing up all the time  
now."  
  
"Maybe it was their next target. A mining station  
might have valuable minerals as well as equipment."   
  
The location was coded unfamiliarly, but beneath were  
the regular 3-space coordinates. It was almost right  
on top of where they'd found the ship.  
  
"Well, it looks like it's not there anymore."  
  
Duo had obviously read down farther than he. "Common  
Era? Wow, that station was old. It was pre-colony."  
  
"Pre-colony? Why would anyone be interested in a  
pre-colony station?"  
  
"Good question."  
  
"Well, here's your answer." Zechs said, as he read  
further. "It was designed by Merchant, the genius  
behind the first colonies, though he didn't live to  
see his designs put to use. No one gave them any value  
for almost a hundred years after his death."  
  
"Computer, display station specs."  
  
"Certainly, William."  
  
Duo smiled as the computer answered politely. "Do you  
think I can keep her?"  
  
Zechs gave a small laugh, before looking at the screen  
again. He froze.  
  
Duo leaned backwards in shock. "Well, that certainly  
looks familiar, doesn't it?"  
  
***  
  
Most of what Duo dug up, he already knew. Damien  
McNeil had given him a lot of information. But the  
station fascinated him. It was clearly built to mimic  
the box now in Wufei's possession.  
  
Merchant had been a genius, like the history books  
said. The use of continuous laser light in such a  
way... Duo ran his simulation of it again. He wondered  
again at its purpose. Why would someone go to so much  
trouble, what was it meant to accomplish? He wished  
again he hadn't promised not to touch the box. If only  
he could make a comparison between them, he could  
discover its secret.  
  
Zechs had long since gone to bed, but the excitement  
of discovery kept Duo from joining him in slumber.  
That and avoiding the strange dreams that had been  
plaguing him. Watching the simulation, as replicas of  
the delicate beams played before his eyes, an idea  
struck him. Duo smiled, there was a way to do this.  
He'd just have to wait until Wufei woke up, or the  
irritable Chinese man would never agree. They had been  
getting along much better. Duo was grateful that Wufei  
had rescued him from his nightmare, something he might  
not have done in the other direction.  
  
**I should be nicer to him.** With that resolution, he  
continued to watch the screen.  
  
***  
  
It had started that morning. Wufei was ready to  
throttle Maxwell if he didn't stop pouting in his  
direction. The other had obviously not slept at all  
and was running on the manic energy that drove Wufei  
crazy. Now, he was taking a break for lunch, and he  
was getting no enjoyment out of his meal.  
  
He took another bite and looked up. Maxwell still had  
that pleading look in his eye. He could take it no  
longer.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
The question seemed to startle his annoyance, but he  
quickly recovered.  
  
"Well, 'Fei, I have a favor to ask."  
  
"Yes?" he said, tapping his foot impatiently. Couldn't  
he just get on with it? At this point, he would have  
done almost anything.  
  
"Could you come down with me to the medical wing and  
scan the box into the computer? Please?"  
  
Wufei blinked for a moment. "Pardon?"  
  
"Could you scan the box?"  
  
"That's what I thought you said. Why?"  
  
"Well..." Duo cleared his throat. "I promised Q that I  
wouldn't touch it, but I want to check out a theory so  
I have to know how it works. So, I want to create a  
sim."  
  
Wufei shook his head. There were times he wondered  
about Maxwell. In fact, he did most of the time. "If I  
do that, you'll stop with the bad puppy eyes  
impression?"  
  
Duo nodded, smiling.  
  
"Fine. Just let me finish my lunch in peace."  
  
"Sure, Wu-man."  
  
Inside, Wufei cringed. He hated that nickname.  
  
***  
  
It was perfect. He wanted to wait for Zechs first, but  
with this new data, he'd been able to figure out how  
the box worked. Strangely, though he had not run it  
completely through, he'd already noticed discrepancies  
between the station and the box. Like they'd been  
created as complements rather than identical copies.  
  
"You said you wanted to show me something?"  
  
He smiled as Zechs entered.  
  
"Yup, I've got some new data on the box."  
  
"Really?" Zechs' expression was curious. "Where?  
Didn't we go through everything?"  
  
"Yes, well, I had Wufei scan it down in med. I've  
created a sim of it, though I haven't run it yet. I  
wanted to wait for you. I think the station is a  
complement to the box in some way."  
  
"You got Wufei to scan it for you?" There was evident  
disbelief.  
  
Duo chuckled. "No one can resist my charms forever."  
  
And was that a blush? Maybe, he could always hope.  
  
"Well, you've seen the one of the station. So, here we  
go."  
  
"Dim lights," he ordered the computer, whom he'd named  
Cindy for some strange reason. It just seemed to fit  
her.  
  
"Play complete simulation, real time."  
  
Now here was the moment of truth. He would see if  
Zechs agreed with him.  
  
The gold and black object filled the screen, beginning  
to twist and turn. All the pieces moved silently, as  
blue lines showed the inner workings turning like  
clockwork. The box was obviously an exquisite piece of  
workmanship.  
  
A star shape rose from the box, turning and slowly,  
ever so slowly, turned and pushed itself back into  
position.  
  
The floor shook.  
  
"What, what was that?"  
  
Zechs pressed the com, "Wufei, what's going on?  
Wufei?"  
  
There was no answer, only static.  
  
***  
  
Wufei was in the main control room, monitoring for  
outside activity. As per usual, there was nothing  
untoward. He wished silently that Zechs were here to  
keep him company, instead of with Maxwell. Hopefully,  
he would be gone once this mission was completed.  
  
Turning his face from the status reports for a moment,  
he looked at the box that so fascinated Maxwell and  
his partner. He didn't see the appeal, really. Sure,  
it was pretty in its own way, but to spend so much  
time on it instead of the real culprits was  
ridiculous. It sat on top of the computer in front of  
him, away from Maxwell and his designs on it. The  
braided boy had gotten him to scan it in the medical  
center, by the Ancestors. This obsession was obviously  
interfering with his real work.  
  
He was so intent, that he nearly fell out of his chair  
when it moved.  
  
**What?!?**  
  
At first he thought something had struck the ship, but  
there was nothing. The box, it wasn't just shaking, it  
was moving itself, turning inside and out.  
  
Then, the ship did shake and the lights went out, the  
only illumination provided by the various computer  
displays. A thousand thoughts echoed through his mind,  
all centered around what could happen if Duo had been  
right all along. **Ancestors! What did you do,  
Maxwell?**  
  
He may not have believed, but he'd read the  
information about the Order of the Gash.  
  
**We're going to die.** And that was the least of his  
worries. For though he knew what they could do, he  
didn't know how to stop them. There were some things  
worse than death.  
  
***  
  
The lights went out completely, all save the screen,  
which continued the simulation, pieces moving faster  
and faster towards completion.  
  
Blue light came from behind cabinets, shining in  
cracks in the walls, under the door, in places where  
no light should be found. Zechs face was outlined in  
shadow and Duo shivered. He grabbed his hand to break  
him out of his trance.  
  
"We have to get up to the control room."  
  
They moved for the door and into the hallway. The  
conditions there were no different. He didn't let go  
of Zechs' hand in case the man disappeared in the  
strangeness.  
  
Behind him metal clinked. They turned as one. A  
familiar face stared out at him, one he knew only too  
well from dreams. The metal that chimed like demented  
bells were chains that were silhouetted in the doorway  
they had just left.  
  
"You called us..."  
  
TBC...  
  
NOTES  
  
The man from the intro was based on a scene from  
Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis. I haven't read  
it in a long time, but I grew up on these books so I  
don't think I'm too far off with it.  
  
Quatre's dream was inspired by the ending scene of  
When True Night Falls by CS Friedman. I always found  
the voices talking over each other creepy.  
  
Station Midas and Merchant were taken from the forth  
movie, which I doubt many people have seen. The  
station was designed by Merchant, decendant of the  
original box creator, as a counter to the box in an  
attempt to destroy its evil. The descendants of the  
orginal Merchant the Toymaker have been closely linked  
with the Lament Configuration. 


	8. Chapter 7 : Careful What You Wish For

Dyna - Thank you for your review. I'm glad you like  
it so far.  
  
  
  
And so our story continues...  
  
  
  
***  
Chapter 7 : Careful What You Wish For  
***  
  
What do you want most? What would you do to have it  
granted? Would you kill for it, die for it?  
  
\\What are you gonna wish for, Johnny?\\  
  
Even little children makes wishes, on candles and  
shooting stars.  
  
\\I can't tell you. Then it won't happen.\\  
  
Everyone has wishes. Everyone has dreams. Everyone  
asks for things, no matter the consequences. Sometimes  
the best prayers are ones left unanswered.  
  
\\Huff.\\  
  
There is an old saying. One we should heed. Be careful  
what you wish for...  
  
\\Puff.\\  
  
...the gods may grant it.  
  
***  
  
"You called us..."  
  
The voice was not the rolling darkness he'd come to  
expect. No, instead it came from another who followed  
the man into the hall. A woman, beautiful if you  
ignored the way she had been scalped, was speaking in  
a breathy voice.  
  
Duo backed up, Zechs with him. The corridor they were  
on seemed now to stretch into infinity behind the  
figures, the familiar metal blending into blocks of  
stone.  
  
"Boy, I know you."  
  
There, that was the voice he knew. He pressed himself  
into Zechs' chest as he continued to move farther  
away. The black holes in place of eyes sucked at him  
again, but this was no dream. It felt too real.  
  
"You sought to know. We are explorers of experience.  
We can show you so many things."  
  
"And if I prefer not to?" Duo asked in a shaking  
voice.  
  
"It's too late for that." The demonic priest was a  
dark parody of someone he had once held so dear. "But,  
I don't think you do."  
  
The stone was inching forward, turning modern into  
antique bit by bit. He had the feeling that he didn't  
want it to reach them.  
  
"Well, changed my mind. Sorry, gotta run."  
  
Though where they could run, he didn't know. He  
practically dragged the other man behind him. There  
was a door up ahead. He didn't think it would stop  
them, but giving them time to think would be good.  
  
"Come on!" he yelled breathlessly, panting for air.  
  
Zechs was merely a second behind him as he ran threw  
the doorway, slamming it shut and, pulling a stunt  
from some old movie he'd seen, breaking the controls.  
Hopefully, that would hold them for a while.  
  
He turned to Zechs, hopefully. "Which way?"  
  
"We need to get to the others."  
  
"The control room is closest."  
  
"I know. Let's go."  
  
***  
  
Wufei tried the communications system one last time in  
desperation. There was nothing, it was all dead. There  
would be no help from outside, at least not now. Well,  
in that case, he'd have to get it from inside. He knew  
they had to get out of here, as quickly as possible.  
He felt a twinge of fear for the others, especially  
Zechs.  
  
**Damn it, why did he have to be with Maxwell now of  
all times?** Then his mental voice became quieter,  
**Ancestors, keep him safe.**  
  
There was something he could do. Get with Trowa and  
Quatre. Together they might stand a better chance. A  
chance to get to Zechs and Maxwell and off this ship  
  
He grabbed for his weapons and left at a run. The box  
laid where it was, forgotten in his haste.  
  
***  
  
Trowa woke at the first tremor, instantly alert from  
years of ingrained instinct. Quatre followed when he  
gave him a shake.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Something's wrong."  
  
The ship shook again. Quatre moved from the position  
he'd cuddled into and stood up, freeing Trowa who had  
been trapped beneath him. They were out the door  
almost immediately, they had to reach the others and  
find out what was wrong.  
  
**We're probably under attack from outside.** Still,  
that didn't seem quite right somehow.  
  
The regular lights went dead, emergency power kicking  
in so they could continue to make their way as fast as  
possible.  
  
The shaking stopped. Trowa turned the corner in a  
defensive posture, coming face to face with Wufei.  
  
"What's going on?" Quatre asked. "Are we under  
attack?"  
  
"No, that's the problem."  
  
***  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"Fine," Duo replied to Zechs' concern. "It's just that  
that is following us."  
  
The other man turned to look where Duo pointed. Duo  
had noticed it before as he glanced back for pursuit.  
There was pursuit indeed, though not the expected  
kind. Instead of inching forward slowly, the stone's  
pace had increased. He had a bad feeling of what would  
happen if it caught up to them. The corridor behind  
had doorways and turns that did not exist before. It  
had turned into a maze. There would be no way out.  
  
"We'll have to get to the others quickly."  
  
Duo didn't mention what they would do then. What could  
they do then? Maybe they could get to the emergency  
shuttle and get the hell out of here.  
  
They began moving again. **Almost there. Almost. Just  
a few more minutes.**  
  
Zechs' long legs left him a few feet ahead of Duo, but  
the man made sure he could keep up. For that he was  
grateful. He wouldn't want to lose him too.  
  
He felt it like an electric shock passing through him.  
  
"Zechs!"  
  
The stone rushed past him and the blond turned.  
"Duo..."  
  
His face was gone, his voice cut off.  
  
Duo skidded to a halt to avoid a direct collision with  
the wall that had appeared in front on him.  
  
"Zechs!"  
  
There was no answer. He kicked the wall in  
frustration, then looked around. What had been the  
final part of their path to the main control room, was  
now a 'T' intersection in a twisted maze. Above, there  
was no ceiling. Instead, it was a formless gray.  
  
A dark ray passed overhead and he thought he heard  
screams, but then it was gone. He went left.  
  
***  
  
"They'll make for the control room. Did you try to get  
help?"  
  
Wufei nodded. "All communications are dead, though  
there is no reason for it. I couldn't even get through  
to Zechs and Maxwell. Something has jammed all the  
systems. The engines are stuck on autopilot even when  
I tried to shut them down. At least we still have life  
support."  
  
The three were on their way back where Wufei had come  
him in the lead, followed by Quatre with Trowa  
bringing up the rear. Their pace was quick, but they  
kept a sharp look out around corners. It wasn't that  
far, for exactly this reason. In an emergency they  
wanted to be able to get together quickly.  
  
The ship had ceased its shuddering except for the  
occasional movement.  
  
Wufei paused, weapon extended and moved around the  
corner. It was empty, but something was very wrong. It  
ended in a wall. There were no doors.  
  
He jerked his head around. "We did go the right way,  
didn't we?"  
  
Trowa and Quatre nodded. The blond looked at him  
quizzically.   
  
"What is it?" They looked around the corner as well.  
  
"Wufei, that wall isn't metal."  
  
He looked again. Quatre was right, it was blocks of  
stone. He walked up to it. The metallic walls melded  
with the dull gray of the material that shouldn't be  
there. Feeling with his fingers around the edges he  
came to one inescapable conclusion. There were no gaps  
or openings. He pushed against it. It was as solid as  
it looked. They couldn't get through.  
  
"There has to be another way around it, we just have  
to find it." He turned back to face them and his eyes  
narrowed. There was something...  
  
"Behind you."  
  
Now they all faced the direction he was watching.  
Something was moving. Coming their way.  
  
Like a shift in color, a faint blurring behind which  
all was unclear. It was not a thing, but a presence.  
  
Fast, almost there, and there was no where to run, no  
where to go.  
  
He stepped backwards. He could see it now, it was the  
change from the silver gray to dull rock, ceiling to  
formless unchanging sky. It was the thing that had  
blocked their way and trapped them here.  
  
It reached them.  
  
Nothing, just a shiver, a faint absence of vision and  
it was done. Quatre gasped behind him. Trowa said  
nothing.  
  
There was a shift above them. A wave of blackness, and  
it chilled his blood.  
  
Quatre moaned this time and Wufei turned. He was  
clutching at his heart and his head. Trowa reached for  
him as he stumbled backwards into the wall, falling  
into it.  
  
Falling through it.  
  
"Quatre." Trowa reached the wall, hitting it but came  
away with nothing but bleeding knuckles. It was as  
solid as Wufei had found it.  
  
"Quatre!"  
  
He was gone.  
  
***  
  
Duo, he was gone. Zechs pressed his hand again to the  
cold stone.   
  
"Pretty, so very pretty. Like an angel."  
  
He whipped around at the voice, leaving the wall  
behind him. It sounded like a woman, but there was no  
one there for him to see. At least, not yet.  
  
"I was pretty like you once. They called me an angel  
too. Fools."  
  
Muscles tensing, looking for where the voice had come  
from. The echoes in the corridor made it difficult.  
The adrenaline pumping through him made it difficult  
to stay unmoving to identify the threat, but years of  
training kicked in.  
  
Which door? Which door?  
  
The one two up on the right. No, it was too far away.  
Closer, closer than that.  
  
A faint movement, like smoke on glass. There, he saw  
her. Or rather, what was left of her.  
  
He gritted his teeth. She was the woman from before, a  
beautiful walking corpse. She smiled at him. Her eyes  
were black.  
  
He pulled out his gun, thankfully he was still armed.  
Years of habit had ingrained it in him, even when it  
no longer seemed necessary.  
  
"What are you going to do, angel? Shoot an unarmed  
woman?"  
  
**Yes.** He doubted she was unarmed and, even then, to  
help Duo, to help Wufei, to help all of them he would  
do it, if only to get back to them faster. There was a  
time and place for honor. This was not one of those  
times.  
  
He fired.  
  
She ghosted sideways, struck only in the shoulder, not  
the heart as he had intended. She didn't even seem to  
notice. Then she bared her teeth in what could have  
been a smile.  
  
She laughed then and the gun flew out of his hand,  
ripped away by something he couldn't see as she walked  
up to him. His eyes searched for the weapon, but then  
she was there, in front of him, between them, pressing  
one hand onto his chest, pushing him back.  
  
"What's your name, angel?"  
  
He was right, she was armed after a fashion. One  
clawed hand scratched open his shirt while cutting the  
flesh beneath.  
  
"They call me Angelique."  
  
She pushed him back with that one hand, something she  
shouldn't have been able to do. Zechs knew he was in  
trouble. Too strong, too fast, too inhumane. But he  
hadn't been considered the best in the Specials for  
nothing.  
  
"I asked you a question. Aren't you going to answer  
me?"  
  
"No."  
  
Pushing himself like he hadn't had to in a long time,  
he *moved*. One hand snapped up, pushing her away.  
Angelique tried to grab him with her other hand, but  
he was faster. He caught the wrist, twisting back and  
kicking out with his left foot, the wall stopping him  
from falling with her. Then he dove for the gun.  
  
She was on her feet in an instant. He rolled over, one  
hand grabbing the gun as he righted himself so he lay  
face up. She was moving, he fired, and she kept  
coming.  
  
On him, claws tearing, above him. His heart pounded.  
They rolled as she reached for his throat. He was on  
his back again, under her. Shifting sideways as she  
tried to cut his throat and missed, hissing like a  
cat. He grabbed the wires holding her scalp down,  
pulling them even as the hooks left flesh and entered  
his palm. His other hand, the one with the gun came  
up. He hooked his leg around her and rolled again.  
Pushed the gun into the hollow under her chin. Fired.  
Again, and again.  
  
Her head exploded, coating him in brain and blue  
fluid. It dribbled into his mouth as he panted for  
breath, the rush gone.  
  
Drip. The liquid oozed onto the ground.  
  
He stood up and wiped his face, spitting onto the  
ground. The fluid stung in his cuts now he was calmer.  
He tucked his gun back. He still had a few bullets  
left and hoped it would be enough. He had to find the  
others.  
  
***  
  
It watched and made no move to intervene. She had  
decided what she wanted to do. He had become tired of  
her anyway, he supposed, not caring one way or  
another.  
  
"Well, Princess, it looks as if you made another  
mistake."  
  
It had been so long since they had been summoned from  
the box, since the Toy Maker had tried to destroy him.  
But he could not be killed so easily. Neither could  
she, truly, and he knew she would return though her  
form may have changed once again. She had not always  
been the woman the blond man had struck down. No, she  
had been summoned into that body by a master of the  
black arts.  
  
Toy Maker. It was one of the few things that made him  
angry, that brought emotion to his face, emotions  
other than those he used in his torments. But the  
descendent did not know who he was. And he was theirs  
already. Once he had said fear was more effective than  
seduction, but sometimes, sometimes this was not the  
case. And sometimes, using both could get you exactly  
what you wanted.  
  
The man who had once been called Elliot, left the  
blond man to his fate. He had someone else to attend  
to.  
  
***  
  
"I've got an idea. Boost me up."  
  
Trowa nodded, this way they could get over the wall,  
if Wufei could manage to reach. Trowa's heavier weight  
would make it difficult for him to do, in spite of his  
acrobatics. He twined his fingers together and let  
Wufei take a running leap.  
  
Wufei reached his hand, he heaved upwards. The Chinese  
man grabbed for the top of the wall, using the  
momentum to help him over.  
  
He reached it. Trowa's heart was in his throat, though  
his face was impassive. He watched as Wufei pulled  
himself upwards, hooking his leg over the wall and  
managing not to fall, something that was remarkable in  
itself.  
  
Wufei stood above him, looking around and over.  
  
"He's not there."  
  
Oh god no.  
  
Wufei looked up and away from him. "Ancestors, what is  
this thing?"  
  
**I can't see it,** he thought. As if reading his  
mind, Wufei looked down again and reached with his  
hand.  
  
"I'll try and pull you up. Can you reach?"  
  
He judged for a moment. "If I jump. Do you have a good  
grip?"  
  
Wufei nodded. Trowa also took a running start,  
propelling himself upwards and gripping the offered  
hand. Wufei 'umped', but managed to pull him upwards  
so he could grip the top of the stones with his free  
hand and help himself over.  
  
Trowa stood up and looked around. He now understood  
Wufei's exclamation. It was giant maze, stretching as  
far as he could see, but all going towards one point.  
And there was something else, the puzzle he had found,  
enormous in size spun at its center. To his side, was  
a vast pit of a room and he could make out levels upon  
levels of the labyrinth before it faded into darkness  
below.  
  
Another wave of blackness came from it, strands of  
dark passing by there heads. Strangely, he thought he  
could hear it screaming. Just like his heart.  
  
***  
  
Duo knew someone was there, knew he was being watched.  
He pretended ignorance, let the other come to him. Duo  
would be ready for him.  
  
He entered the room cautiously. There, he would wait  
there. He turned and faced the door. Soon, the itch at  
the back of his neck said. He didn't notice he was  
smiling.  
  
***  
  
It was dark. Quatre blinked, pulling his legs in from  
where they sprawled on the cold floor. He felt around  
with his hands, trying to find where he had been a  
moment before.  
  
"Trowa?"  
  
For a moment his call went unanswered. Then there was  
a shuffling noise in front of him.  
  
"Quatre..." The voice was raspy, like a death rattle.  
  
Quatre bit his lip, trying to reach out with all his  
senses to make up for his lack of sight. That voice  
hadn't been Trowa's. He had to be prepared to fight.  
  
"Quatre... darling... Is that you?"  
  
He tensed, rolling onto his feet but staying close to  
the floor.  
  
"I've been waiting so long..."  
  
There, the shuffling noise again, as if whoever it was  
dragged its feet towards him. Maybe ten feet away,  
slightly towards the right. If he could just feel...  
  
Despair. Pain. Desire. Cold, he was so cold he burned.  
He grabbed for his heart unconsciously, it felt tight  
in his chest. He fell forward and moaned slightly,  
biting back to stop the noise from reaching whoever  
was there.  
  
"Are you alright... Quatre... ?"  
  
Shuffle.  
  
"Mommy's here..."  
  
Shuffle.  
  
"Mommy's here to help you..."  
  
It came right towards him, it knew where he was.  
  
**No! No! Get it away!** He struggled to control his  
breathing, gritting his teeth and stood to his feet.  
There was no point in hiding.  
  
"You're not my mother. My mother is dead."  
  
There was a sob, one not torn from his own lips at his  
denial. "You don't believe me... I've waited so long  
to see you..."  
  
Shuffle.  
  
"I'll show you..."  
  
At first he thought that his eyes were playing tricks  
on him to try to remove the consistent blackness. A  
faint red appeared, spreading wider like a pool of  
liquid. It did not glow so much as contrast. Then, he  
saw her.  
  
She was dressed in a muted green hospital gown, blond  
hair plastered to her head with sweat. Her face was  
pale, emaciated even, bones under a film of skin. But  
it was recognizable. His father had always carried a  
picture of her with him.  
  
The red reached his feet, flowing about his shoes like  
molasses, slow and thick.  
  
"Come to mommy..."  
  
She held her arms wide. His chest still hurt.  
  
"I want to look at my son... Have you been a good  
boy... Made me proud..."  
  
He stood still, staring. His cheeks were wet. Quatre  
wondered when he'd started crying. He had always  
wanted to meet his mother, always wanted to make her  
proud wherever she was.  
  
"Mother."  
  
"No, you haven't been a good boy..."  
  
He saw where the red was coming from now. Drip. Drip.  
He tried not to look at the growing red stain near her  
crotch, as the green became so much darker.  
  
"You've killed me... Killed your own mother..."  
  
Shuffle.  
  
"How could you?"  
  
Her face contorted into something foul. Something he  
could not describe, save for the fact it now looked  
more like a skull than a living woman.  
  
"I... I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."  
  
Shuffle.  
  
"Murderer. You've killed me. Killed your own mother.  
You're not sorry." Instead of the barely audible  
rattle, she screeched at him, piercing his ears. He  
took a step back, but she moved forward, hands now  
curved like claws, slashing at him.  
  
"You're no son of mine."  
  
"Killer."  
  
"Monster."  
  
"Where were you when your father needed you?"  
  
"Wasn't enough to kill me? Had to let him die too?"  
  
One swipe reached for his cheek and he pulled himself  
backwards. Unbalanced, he fell backwards onto the  
floor. He felt the cold stone. It took a second to  
realize, but he felt the cold *dry* stone.  
  
"This isn't real. You're not my mother."  
  
Quatre scrambled up. "You're not my mother. She would  
never do this. You aren't real."  
  
It had been keeping him here. Distracting him from  
where he should be. **Trowa.** He needed to get to  
Trowa.  
  
"Trowa," he yelled.  
  
The thing launched itself at him again.  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
***  
  
Trowa's head jerked upwards. There was something,  
something out there.  
  
"Did you hear that?" he asked Wufei.  
  
The other shook his head. "No. What was it?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Maybe we should go this way, then. We don't want to  
run into one of those things." Wufei's tone showed his  
distaste of the last word.  
  
Trowa nodded, his expression dead.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll find him."  
  
He could only hope so.  
  
***  
  
"Duo..."  
  
He cocked his gun with a click that echoed off the  
stone walls. Duo trained it on the man who walked  
through the door, aiming for his head. He backed up,  
brushing through the forest of chains. Their touch was  
a cold and rough caress, tangling in his hair and  
ripping it out of his braid.  
  
There was a smile at the sight of the firearm. He got  
a bad feeling that it might not be very effective, but  
it was all he had.  
  
"You won't shoot me."  
  
"And why the hell not?"  
  
"Because I have things you want," was the calm reply.  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
He didn't know why he didn't shoot, except maybe the  
fear that his gut was right. Instead, he sidestepped,  
trying to get closer to the door and away from the  
corner he was trapped in.  
  
"But I do."  
  
The demon came closer. Duo's finger tightened on the  
trigger, but did not fire. He backed up another step.  
  
"I know exactly what you want most."  
  
It was a large claim, since Duo himself wasn't  
entirely sure what he wanted. No doubt the thing was  
just messing with his head. Just like all those  
dreams.  
  
"Think of me as your personal genie. I can grant your  
dearest wish."  
  
"Oh yeah, only in exchange for my soul, right?" Wasn't  
that how all these types of deals worked?  
  
"Is it so precious to you? I have no need for souls.  
Here there is only flesh."  
  
"This is where you belong, Shinigami."  
  
Duo swallowed and narrowed his eyes. How could he know  
about that?  
  
As if reading his thoughts, the words continued. "So  
many here thanks to you. So many lives cut short. So  
much guilt... But is it guilt for the lives lost, or  
because you enjoyed it so much? That power to chose  
life and death."  
  
"You hunger for it. No one knows how much you missed  
it, except me. You could have all of it again, without  
the guilt, without the secrecy. I've seen your face  
reflected in the eyes of those who've come here even  
now. There would be nothing to stop you, nothing to  
hold you back."  
  
"Vengeance can taste so sweet."  
  
Duo was shivering. Suddenly the room seemed icy cold.  
He couldn't want that, he'd left that feeling behind  
with the war, mostly, of being almost God. That was  
not what he did. No, not that. It wasn't the same  
thing at all. Justice was what it was. That's all.  
Just justice. It was walking closer.  
  
"But that is just part of what you want, Duo, isn't  
it?"  
  
One step, then another, still confidant as ever.  
Closer, closer... He had to get rid of it, make it  
stop talking, make it do what he wanted... Duo's  
finger squeezed.  
  
With perfect timing, as if this was some sort of  
elaborate dance, the pinned man stepped aside, the  
bullet missing his head by inches. It zoomed past one  
white ear, clanging into a chain across the room. The  
chain fell to the floor with a clatter.  
  
"Oh, I see I am right."  
  
"Stop right there. I won't miss next time."  
  
The figure stood still, stopping a maybe five feet in  
front of him. His statement was true, at this range,  
Duo wouldn't miss no matter what tricks he tried to  
pull.  
  
"I'm sure you won't. It's what you do best, isn't it?  
What you love. That control. Especially over those who  
are dangerous themselves."  
  
"That's what I can give you. All you have to do is say  
yes. And yet you hesitate? What else could you want?  
Ah, I know."  
  
The voice changed. No longer the seductive smooth  
liquid honey, but one nearer to his heart.  
  
"You want to see me again, don't you Duo?" Father  
Maxwell's voice was so inappropriate coming from that  
throat. "Well, you can't. You're destined for hell  
anyway."  
  
"You know its true."  
  
And it was. Heaven wasn't for people like him. That's  
what he'd been taught. Not for killers. Not when they  
wished for the war to come back so they could do what  
they liked for a cause. Not when they were Shinigami.  
  
"And if it is?" Duo asked. "What difference does it  
make?" He still had plenty of years left. At least he  
could enjoy them.  
  
"A very large one. The question is not if you should  
come here, but whether you are master or servant."  
  
"If you choose the one, what do you have? You can  
leave here and return to what? A pitiful existence,  
life unfulfilled. All by yourself, alone. And an  
eternity to follow."  
  
"Hilde... that bitch will never be what you want. She  
makes a good cover, but that's all she'll ever be."  
  
"Who else is there? Such a pitiful little list."  
  
"Solo, Father Maxwell, Sister Helen... but you'll  
never see any of them again. And, really, they aren't  
what you want anyway. Could you share with them? Could  
they feel what you feel?"  
  
"Trowa... Quatre... They have each other. They'll  
never want you."  
  
"Wufei... That one is too honorable and righteous.  
He'd kill you first. He probably suspects already."  
  
"And then there's Heero."  
  
Duo glared, his lips curving into a snarl at the  
mention of the name.  
  
"You really thought you could share with him. That he  
was like you. But he wasn't, was he? No, not like you  
at all. That was the war and the training. He never  
even really knew you and now he's gone. And he's not  
coming back."  
  
"But you've found someone else..."  
  
And suddenly, no one was there in front of him. The  
space was empty. A presence behind him. He turned, but  
was stopped by the feel of breath against his neck.  
  
"You found me." Zechs' voice, a low sexy purr that  
he'd wanted to hear for too long, whispered close to  
his ear.   
  
"And I could be what you want. With. Just. A. Little.  
Push. I could be just like you."  
  
Maybe, maybe it was true. He wanted, wanted to see  
those blue eyes glaze over with lust and desire.  
Wanted to see the angel stained with blood. He wanted  
to be the one to drive Zechs over the edge again, to  
be there with him when he fell. But it could never  
happen. No, it couldn't, not like he wanted.  
  
"But it could. Here."  
  
"So, Duo, what do you wish for?"  
  
TBC...  
  
NOTES  
  
Elliot Spencer was Pinhead's mortal incarnation, a WWI  
officer when he solved the box. This can be seen in  
the second movie and allows Kirsty to make the  
cenobites remember human identities they had  
forgotten.  
  
The Toy Maker refered to is Merchant from the 4th  
movie.  
  
The black waves is occasionally seen in the 2nd movie.  
  
"Occasionally, flashes of black light -- the  
manifestation of those tortured souls -- may burst out  
of Leviathan, washing over any individuals wandering  
through hell. The flip-side of the light of God, this  
black light reveals pain and guilt and sorrow --  
emotions and memories which Leviathan enjoys using to  
manipulate its prey." -- Concepts & Guidelines for a  
Horror Anthology Series  
  
Given Quatre's abilities, I thought it would be even  
worse for him to experience than the others.  
  
If you want to know what Trowa saw when he looked  
at the maze, go here...  
http://www.cenobite.com/pix/hr2-labyrinth01.jpg  
http://www.cenobite.com/pix/hr2-labyrinth02.jpg 


	9. Chapter 8 : Specters of the Past

Miss Kissranada - I'm glad you're still reading and enjoying.  
  
  
  
Here we go again...  
  
  
***  
Chapter 8 : Specters of the Past  
***  
  
You can never forget your past. Remember that. Learn  
from history, otherwise you are doomed to repeat it.  
  
\\Everyone has skeletons in their closets\\  
  
You can never let it go. Not because you don't want  
to, not because it would be easier...  
  
\\Some people have just hidden them better.\\  
  
...but because it never lets go of you.  
  
***  
  
The thing in front of him advanced. Quatre backed up.  
It wasn't real, it was illusion, but what if the  
illusion hid something else.  
  
The only thing he could do was try to get rid of the  
illusion. Despite the chill of a brief glimpse, Quatre  
knew he had no choice. If his eyes could not see  
truly, at least his heart could.  
  
He continued out of reach, dodging and ignoring how  
his heart was breaking at the mockery. Dodged, and  
then pushed outwards with all his heart, something he  
had never tried to do before, but he was lent strength  
by necessity and fear.  
  
Ice flowed through his veins, so cold it burned. The  
thing did not want him dead, it wanted his pain, his  
suffering, but it would not enjoy even that, for it  
knew no such thing as happiness.  
  
He pushed harder even as part of him screamed at him  
to stop, that he did not want to see or understand,  
that death was a better fate. It was like the  
nightmare, hands tore at him in the darkness of his  
mind, whispering. Black, then red and painful white  
that blinded without revealing.  
  
A thousand times worse than the blackness that had  
separated him from Trowa, it beat in time, like a  
heartbeat, trying to wrench him from himself and he  
realized in panic that he couldn't get back to  
himself. That his body was as inaccessible as the sun  
and as vulnerable as a child. A million voices  
screamed at the unfairness of the universe, screamed  
without hope of anything but pain, screamed that there  
was no hope for anyone or anything. A secret song that  
he but glimpsed until now. There was nothing but this.  
His happiness had been the illusion, this was the only  
reality. The universe was alive and fed on their pain.  
This and nothing else.  
  
Through the eyes of the other he could see himself,  
collapsed on the ground, waiting like a gift to be  
opened. And he couldn't do anything. Hatred he knew he  
could never comprehend pressed in from all sides. He  
tried to retreat before it could swallow him whole,  
before he was lost in it, before it became him.  
  
Something in him snapped, reverberating through his  
sense of self, now barely separate from everything  
around him. Quatre no longer felt the pain. He merely  
was for a moment, before aligning himself to attack.  
The death of his body was unacceptable.  
  
Like a knife, cutting through the awareness of the  
Other that was approaching his body. Taking away its  
sight, its feeling, locking it within himself.  
Surrounded, the awareness struggled feebly. Until he  
crushed it, tore it into pieces that scattered into  
the song of despair, destroyed, for lack of a better  
term, its soul.  
  
His sight faded as the Other's body twitched and fell  
still. The handicap was noted.  
  
His body was still inaccessible so instead he studied  
the minds around him, determining which were  
dangerous. Snuffing them out by pulling them out into  
the wave of voices, trapping them without physical  
form. All tried to fight him, but were too weak to  
hurt him.  
  
There was one mind in the center of all this,  
directing everything. It would know how to leave this  
place, his mission.  
  
He ignored all besides that one, that darkness that  
was like a black hole, its mass so great that it could  
trap even light making it seem a void of nothing. But  
it was there, not the nothing it seemed.  
  
He weighed his options. This mind was more powerful  
than he was. He would have to be as nothing,  
unnoticeable, unimportant.  
  
He curled himself small and dove for it. But it saw  
him anyway, followed him as he tried to hide himself  
within all the others.  
  
Floating on the songs of metal and flesh, of pain and  
despair. But they could not touch him. And that was  
his undoing. One voice that did not cry out, but  
waited silent.  
  
And the other mind was angry for the intrusion, that  
someone had dared challenge it. And instead, it  
reached into him... and pulled. It did not try to  
destroy him, for nonexistence was peace, which was  
something it would never give anyone. It passed  
through him with no consideration for the damage it  
caused. The thing that had broken realigned itself.  
That was all, he was nothing, worth no more than that.  
  
And he was the screams around him, the voices, all who  
he had just destroyed. Quatre came back to himself and  
to everything around him. And he tried to escape, to  
get away, to find sanctuary. Most did not care, but  
some Others followed, clinging to him and the voices  
became more personal. They knew him. They hated.  
  
He fled as they tried to rip him apart like he had  
done to some of the Others.  
  
And he felt something... something that he had  
forgotten in the seeming eternity since he had been  
with the voices. It was warm and peaceful and glowed  
with hope. And cleared a path for him so he could flee  
faster. Flee towards something that would give him  
sanctuary.  
  
His memories of happiness and love returned.  
  
"Trowa."  
  
Just a touch, for an instant he could see Trowa, feel  
Trowa and everything was alright...  
  
Then, Quatre opened his eyes.  
  
***  
  
Wufei saw Trowa sway unsteadily for a moment and  
rushed to his side. One green eye flicked towards him.  
  
"I know where Quatre is."  
  
"What? How?"  
  
"I just do. It was like I was with him for a second."  
  
Trowa pointed. "That way, he's over there."  
  
Wufei nodded. It was as good as any other direction  
and those two did have an uncanny sense of each other.  
  
***  
  
Jack Hadley waited. Anticipation was almost worse than  
the pain. He was sure They knew that. They came to  
torment him sometimes, but mostly he was left alone to  
think. To wonder what his hell would be like. There  
were others, like him, in this parody of a waiting  
room. He'd never liked those either, but he wouldn't  
have minded a chance to sit down. His wrists chaffed  
in their bonds and he glanced at the door. Soon his  
number would come up.  
  
It was difficult to tell time here, so difficult, but  
he had been here for a few weeks at least. He was  
dead, he knew that now. At first he hoped it was a  
hallucination, or a dream, but he'd felt his life  
bleed away.  
  
That boy, that boy he'd found. Pretty, no, more than  
that. He'd been perfect. Long hair pulled back, a  
cherub's face. Older than he usually went for, but  
something had drawn him on. He couldn't resist trying  
to take him home. And had been surprised at how easy  
it had been. He should have known, then, that  
something wasn't right. Something like that shouldn't  
have fallen into his arms so quickly. But he'd been  
blinded by what he wanted, the urge to bleed the boy  
dry. Beautiful, it would have been, perfect. Jack had  
never even gotten to taste him.  
  
It was *her* fault, it was always her fault. She had  
been gone on another of her 'business trips'. Jack  
knew that for the lie it was. He wondered who it was  
she was seeing, but it didn't make any difference to  
him. Did she think he was any happier than her now  
that she couldn't do anything for him? Not that he  
really wanted to, that was the problem. She'd been a  
pretty little young thing once, but not any more. But  
they could, couldn't they? And it was as much their  
fault as his, that they were so pretty when they  
bleed, when they died under him. So pretty, so *good*.  
  
Good, no, they weren't good little girls and boys.  
Good little girls and boys wouldn't do such things.  
  
//"We'll have no rotten little fags in this family,  
boy. You understand me?"  
  
His father's face was red with anger, his eyes bulging  
outwards and his nostrils flared. He raised his belt  
again.   
  
"I said, you understand me, boy?"  
  
Jack's voice shook. "Yes, sir." He bowed his head.  
"I... I won't do it again."  
  
His mother didn't help him. She was hiding in the  
kitchen, pretending not to hear, pretending to make  
supper.  
  
"Little faggot, kissing another boy."//  
  
They deserved what they got. All of them, they  
deserved it. So why was he here, waiting and waiting.  
He counted in his head. One... two... three...  
  
..ninety-nine... one-hundred...  
  
And counted back again. And forward. And backwards. It  
was something to do.  
  
Except, except, now it was his turn. No one came back  
out through that door again, and he was going in. Not  
coming back. He cursed his wife again and cursed that  
brat that had sent him here.  
  
He collapsed, but They dragged him through anyway.  
They were like zombies, Frankenstein's monsters,  
pieced together from limbs and torsos with no minds of  
their own. They weren't the ones running things, he  
knew. They took their orders from someone else. Jack  
didn't have the will or strength to struggle.  
  
The thing sat behind a desk, strangely enough. It  
tapped a pencil to paper, considering. It, like the  
zombies, was a retched once-human, but there was  
intelligence when it spoke, training eyes on him. They  
had been sowed shut. He wondered, for a minute, how it  
could do its job at all with that, but from the  
considering look on what remained of the face, it  
didn't seem to notice the handicap.  
  
"Jack Hadley."  
  
Tap. Tap. The pencil hit the paper.  
  
"We have your place ready, now. I'm very sorry for the  
long wait. Things are so hectic these days." Dismissed  
with a gesture, they dragged him onwards, shoving him  
through an open doorway roughly. There was a place  
waiting for him. Chained up again, restrained. It  
hurt. He didn't like it. The door was still open, but  
he couldn't get too it.  
  
"Hey, let me out!"   
  
And laughter answered him.  
  
There were so many pretty people. Laughing at him,  
calling him names, saying so many *bad* things.   
  
He wanted to show them, teach them not to do that.  
Show them what happened to bad little boys and girls.  
  
But he couldn't reach them. Couldn't reach any of  
them. There was hate in their eyes. They burned  
without touching.  
  
One boy came up and hit him. His lip bled. Then a girl  
came up. She wrapped her hand around him at the base  
of his prick. He sucked in a breath raggedly. Would  
she...  
  
But then she laughed as she clawed his dick instead,  
making it bleed. He screamed, but that just make her  
laugh harder.  
  
They scattered at something he couldn't see. Jack  
turned his head. Someone was watching them, leaning  
against the one wall casually. Just out of the corner  
of his eye, if he could turn just a bit more...  
  
"So much enthusiasm, don't you agree? I guess it's  
true what they say; one man's hell is another's  
heaven."  
  
"Who are you?" he asked. There was something familiar,  
but he couldn't quite see. But the white face, the  
lack of blood, the black clothes. He was one of those  
things. One of the ones who ran this place. A demon.  
  
It was right behind him now, trailing a cold finger  
down his spine.  
  
"Jack, don't you remember me? I'm disappointed. I  
thought we had something memorable."   
  
The thing stepped into view.  
  
Jack shuddered. "No, it can't be you. No, no, no..."  
  
They had been waiting for him. He was one of Them.  
They had brought him here, had laid a trap for him. No  
wonder he'd been so easy. Demon, that's what he'd been  
all along. That's why he'd failed. Jack tried to push  
himself as far away as possible, but the chain was  
just long enough that he could stand, not move.  
  
"Anyway, they're all so eager so I thought I'd give  
them a few pointers about what you like best. I hope  
you don't mind too much."  
  
Violet eyes burned into his soul as well, or what was  
left of it.  
  
***  
  
"Quatre!" He turned at the voice. Trowa, it was Trowa!  
He sent a fervent prayer of thanks upwards. Voices  
whispered that it was another trap, but he knew  
better. They only wanted him to fail, clinging to his  
soul even now.  
  
"Trowa."  
  
Warm arms encircled him. "I was so worried, little  
one."  
  
"I was worried too." He burrowed more deeply into the  
embrace.  
  
**Don't tell him what you did. He'd hate you then.**  
  
**No, he wouldn't. Trowa would forgive me.** They had  
followed him back to his body, but he could ignore  
them. They did not control him and everything was  
alright. Trowa had found him again. Now they just had  
to get out of here.  
  
"What happened?" Wufei asked as he looked around  
warily.  
  
"I felt something, then fell. Everything went black  
except there was a thing that said it was my mother."  
  
Trowa hugged him tighter momentarily. He knew how  
important that claim would have been to Quatre.  
  
Quatre continued. "Except, she wasn't real, it was  
just trying to hide its real appearance from me. I..."  
He stopped, he didn't know how to describe what had  
happened. "I looked into its head and killed it."  
  
Such a small sentence for what had happened.  
  
**See. You couldn't tell him. But we know better.**  
  
**Shut up. You know nothing.**  
  
Trowa just stroked his hair. **Love, I'll tell you  
when we get out of this. I promise.**  
  
**Liar. Liar.**  
  
He ignored the voice.  
  
"I hate to interrupt, but I don't think we should stay  
here too long." Wufei sounded genuinely remorseful and  
had no way of knowing the Quatre had made this  
possibly the safest place for them earlier.  
  
**Safe, you'll never be safe. No, no, not you. You  
killed us and now we'll return the favor.**  
  
**Here! Here! They're over here.**  
  
Quatre pushed the voice back into oblivion. But it was  
right, they weren't truly safe.  
  
"You're right. We have to find a way out."  
  
Wufei nodded, but his expression was grim. "How? This  
maze goes on forever as far as we can see. It's like  
we're trapped in some other dimension."  
  
Trowa motioned his agreement and Quatre bit his lip.  
It was something he didn't want to do, but there was  
no other choice.  
  
"The problem is you've been looking with your eyes."  
  
***  
  
If he hadn't already gone numb, Zechs knew he would  
have retched at the sight. It was a detached thought,  
separating him from the things he was seeing,  
something he knew he should be grateful for.  
  
The room was huge, larger than anything he had seen so  
far. A complete symphony orchestra with an audience of  
one. Well, two, but he wasn't supposed to be here.  
Each player using instruments that were part of his  
own body, or had been at some point. When they were  
human. Before this had happened. Strings whined out of  
tune, strings of gut and hair that he was sure were  
human. At least the rest of the instruments were.  
Despite this, he recognized what the members were  
playing. He'd been to the symphony with Treize many  
times. The man had loved classical music. That thought  
penetrated the numbness slightly and he knew he had to  
get out of here.  
  
Zechs fell back through the entranceway and leaned  
against the wall. He wished he didn't have to look.  
But how else was he to find the way out. Some of these  
door lead to other halls, some lead to things like he  
had just found. He thanked his good memory that he  
knew he could find where he had been already.  
Hopefully that would let him find where he had to go.  
If only he could get his bearings. If only...  
  
He worked his way down to the next door. He winced  
inwardly as he moved. His cuts were stinging still and  
he really wished he could wash them out. Instead, he'd  
let them bleed, hoping it would wash whatever it was  
out of his system.  
  
He paused, breathing deeply before the entrance and  
let the numbness overtake him once again. Clutching  
anger at the situation close, he could face anything.  
This place was trying to hurt Duo, probably trying to  
hurt Wufei and it had certainly tried to hurt him. The  
last could be discounted, but for the others he could  
feel the anger he needed to distance himself.  
  
Zechs stepped through the door.  
  
It was a room, another one, much smaller than the  
last. In places the stone was black and scorched from  
fire. Moans of pleasure, all female, echoed through  
the room which smelled of sex. Beds of stone slid out  
of rectangular holes in the walls. Women, hidden and  
shrouded by white cloth, writhed seductively on them.  
It was they who made the noise. They slid back into  
their hiding place.  
  
He moved to leave.  
  
"Wait. Don't leave me here."  
  
Zechs turned to the voice. The dark shape that had  
been hidden at the back of the room.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked, wary.  
  
The figure came forward so he could see it. It was a  
man, or had been. Not like Angelique, with her mockery  
of beauty. This one was like an accident victim,  
burned beyond recognition. But its eyes were alive,  
and it spoke.  
  
"Frank. My name is Frank."  
  
***  
  
His voice worked. The fact was almost surprising. It  
had been so long since he had spoken, since he had  
anyone to speak to, that he'd feared his words would  
be unintelligible. But no, the man had understood him,  
even if his speech had sounded strange to his own  
ears, rough and hoarse.  
  
Frank could see the wariness, especially since the guy  
was armed, and from his condition the man had  
obviously had a run in with SOMETHING. His clothing  
was torn and stained with blood and other  
unidentifiable liquids. The blood was the man's own.  
  
The moans started again. He was used to it. He had  
been here a long time. But his visitor wasn't. Blue  
eyes flicked sideways momentarily.  
  
"Don't worry about them. They're just here to tease  
me. Part of my punishment. Look, but don't touch."  
  
"Punishment? For what?"  
  
For being a womanizing, adultering murderer and user  
in life, he supposed. "My life."  
  
The man nodded once, like he understood. Maybe he did,  
at least some of it. He was obviously well dressed and  
groomed under most other circumstances, perhaps to  
attract women that Frank knew would flock to him. Like  
they had to Frank's bad-boy and deliberately rugged  
appearance.  
  
And the thought struck him. A way to get out of here  
and get what he wanted. To fix the damage that that  
bitch Julia had caused.  
  
For with the exception of those few cuts, his skin was  
perfect. There would never be another chance like  
this.  
  
Now he just had to get him within reach. Frank was  
already dead, he doubted that the gun would hurt him  
much.  
  
**Say something, Frank, anything. Get him  
distracted.**  
  
"Why are you here?" Actually, he was rather curious.  
  
"I'm looking for a way out."  
  
"I got out once. Then some stupid bitch sent me back  
in exchange for her."  
  
Kirsty, sweet little Kirsty. Bitch. She was the reason  
he was here.  
  
"But why are you HERE?" That wasn't what he'd meant at  
all. How had he gotten so far unscathed, or nearly so?  
  
"I don't know."  
  
**Yes, think I'm not dangerous. Let me get just a bit  
closer.**  
  
The man seemed to have decided he wasn't much of a  
threat. Frank moved closer.  
  
"What happened to you with all that?" He made a  
gesture with one hand to the injuries.  
  
"Someone who called herself Angelique. One of the  
Order of the Gash, I assume."  
  
Order of the Gash? Ah, Cenobites. And he'd survived  
it.  
  
"That's all she did to you?" That seemed different  
than he remembered. Once they got their hands on you,  
there was no escape, no matter how far your thought  
you'd run.  
  
"That's all she had the chance to do. I killed her."  
  
Killed a cenobite. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.  
Well, what did he have to lose.  
  
"How?"  
  
"Shot her in the head twice at close range." Calmly  
answered. This man was a killer. Probably a  
professional one.  
  
**Nothing to lose, everything to gain. Remember  
that.**  
  
Closer. Closer.  
  
It was a blur when he tried for it, going to fast to  
really register except for the fact that things didn't  
go as planned. He'd managed to get the man off the  
stairs, but a kick to the head, directed at one of his  
eyes, had made him release his hold. It was one of the  
places he could still feel pain. There now appeared to  
have some advantage to the lack of nerve endings where  
they had been burned away. Instead of falling  
completely, however, the man twisted like a cat midair  
and landed on his feet. Fortunately, it was without  
his weapon. It had landed on one of the women and was  
pulled back out of reach.  
  
"No. Damn you! I won't stay here," he practically  
growled.  
  
The man crouched in a ready position as Frank closed  
in carefully. He didn't want to damage the skin more  
than it had been already.  
  
They fought for a moment. He knew had been right. This  
was no amateur. But Frank was dead, that gave him an  
advantage that the other couldn't match.  
  
"Your skin. I'll have it. You won't stop me."  
  
The other man didn't have a chance to reply.  
  
He would have it, nothing could stop him, no matter  
how good this guy was. Nothing.  
  
Nothin...Gack! He reached his hands up to his throat  
at the thing that wrapped around it and pulled him  
back. Chains. No, not them. They were here.  
  
He could just see the other make a strategic retreat.  
Leaving him here. And a voice, one he didn't know,  
didn't recognize anything about it at all except the  
tone. Angry and possessive. Angry at him.  
  
"Nobody touches what's mine without my say so."  
  
***  
  
"This way."  
  
Wufei followed after Trowa and Quatre, constantly  
looking behind them. He hoped Quatre was alright. He  
could practically feel Trowa's concern as well as his  
own. The tightness around the eyes, the occasional  
glaze over of his expression as he fought some inner  
demon and the way he kept chewing on his now bleeding  
lower lip did not inspire confidence. Something was  
very wrong. They had no choice, though. What else  
could they do?  
  
There was noise now, there were things ahead of them.  
A moan, a scream, the repetitive hammering of some  
tools, all were clear against the sound of their feet.  
  
They turned the corner warily, but it was empty. That  
did nothing to relieve him, since there was light  
flickering from the one visible doorway.  
  
"Are you sure there's no other way?" he whispered.  
Quatre nodded in confirmation. His eyes were narrowed  
in pain and his hands clenched onto Trowa's arm.  
  
"They should be distracted. Just go quickly and  
quietly."  
  
Given the sounds, he didn't need to ask what they  
would be distracted by.  
  
***  
  
William Bremand could not scream anymore, nor could he  
hope for the release of unconsciousness. If such a  
thing were possible here, he would have blacked out  
long ago. His eyes rolled back in his head as he  
avoided looking at what was left of his legs. The  
zombies continued to saw, they were half way through  
the bone. The other limb was already missing.  
  
He gazed longingly at the door. If only he could still  
run, if only he could still run. He didn't deserve  
this. So, he had caused a few deaths in the name of  
business. That's all it was, business. Not like this  
torture. Except, that's what this was to them. He'd  
begged and pleaded, to no avail.  
  
Schruch.  
  
One more stoke. One more slice.  
  
Schruch.  
  
And another and another.  
  
That stupid puzzle. He should never have listened,  
never have taken it, just dumped it with the body he'd  
taken it from. That's what he should have done. But it  
was so convenient. Business again, with his hands  
clean. He hadn't forced anyone to open it, had he? No,  
they'd done it themselves and left him free and clear.  
  
He saw them then. Someone was walking by, ignoring  
him. Not even looking in. They were human! Human, not  
these demented freaks.  
  
He tried to speak through his scratchy throat with a  
voice that was gone.  
  
"Help me."  
  
It was just a breath of air. They didn't hear him.  
Didn't stop.  
  
"Help me. Help me. Help me."  
  
The last one turned to him, a young Asian who probably  
hadn't even had his last growth spurt yet. The boy's  
eyes widened and left his, focusing on something else.  
  
"Run," he heard the boy yell.  
  
Schruch. They kept cutting.  
  
***  
  
Wufei yelled a warning. The thing was something he had  
never imagined even in his darkest nightmares. Like a  
scorpion with the mouth of a shark and claws that were  
too much like human hands. Intelligence glimmered in  
its eyes as it dropped its utensils of mutilation from  
where it had been sewing something that he didn't even  
want to think about.  
  
It came through the doorway before he could follow his  
companions, splitting them down the middle. Wufei  
jumped backwards as it decided where to attack.  
  
The thing turned and went after Trowa and Quatre. They  
retreated, Trowa avoiding the claws and tail using his  
acrobatic skill, occasionally getting a shot at it.  
Wufei could not abandon them, he could not be so weak  
and tried to follow and attack from behind, but it was  
not to be.  
  
Other things, these more human and in some way more  
horrible for it, poured out of the doorway.  
  
He shot the first one, then the second. They still  
came forward, arms outstretched, like those monsters  
in all those terrible early horror movies that Maxwell  
had forced him to watch.  
  
There were just too many, if they did not react to  
anything. Perhaps if he did more damage.  
  
One grabbed his arm and he could not get it loose. It  
was too strong. Wufei instead shot it in the throat.  
This time it gagged and let him free.  
  
**So, they can be hurt.**  
  
He used the same tactic again, trying to get through  
the crowd. There were many, but they weren't bright.  
  
He was almost through. Almost free to help the others.  
  
  
His gun clicked. It was empty. **Ancestors, not now.**  
How could he have forgotten to count his bullets at a  
time like this?  
  
But he twisted and dodged and ducked. And the hall was  
empty in front of him. Wufei ran, he had to find Trowa  
and Quatre.  
  
The things behind him seemed to have thought they'd  
done their duty and went back to business.  
  
Wufei ran onwards. He looked down intersections, into  
rooms, everywhere. But they were gone.  
  
**Weakling. How could you have lost them too?**  
  
Don't look with your eyes, Quatre had said. Wufei had  
never been one for mysticism. The only thing he had  
faith in was his ancestors and, at one point, Nataku.  
He swallowed. How did one go about seeing without  
eyes?  
  
***  
  
Zechs cursed himself under his breath. He should have  
been more wary. Now he was unarmed. He would just have  
to keep going, he had no choice.  
  
The corridor was long and empty. It seemed to be  
lighter at the end, but he knew that for the trick it  
was now. A light at the end of the tunnel, just enough  
to give hope, but it was false hope. Still, there had  
to be something that would let him out, somewhere.  
They had gotten in, they had to be able to get out.  
Somewhere, the others were in the same predicament as  
himself. They wouldn't be caught unawares like he had  
been, he had to believe that. Had to have faith in  
that, or there was no point. A small voice whispered  
to him, asking him why it mattered if he got out or  
not. Did he have anything to live for?  
  
He ignored it as he always had since the end of the  
war. That voice had plagued him for too long.  
  
He turned a corner.  
  
The hallway came to an abrupt end with another door.  
Since there was no choice, he pushed it open.  
  
And was blinded by light of the beyond.  
  
TBC...  
  
NOTES  
  
Jack's first name is taken both from the obvious, and  
is the name of the main character in An American  
Werewold in London.  
  
The rooms Zechs sees is taken from Songs of Metal and  
Flesh, a Hellraiser comic. The transcript can be found  
on the Hellbound Web.  
  
Frank is from the first two Hellraiser movies. 


	10. Chapter 9 : Red as Roses

***  
Chapter 9 : Red as Roses  
***  
  
White for purity and mourning, white the color of  
tried and tested love, pure love, true love.  
  
\\drip\\  
  
Pink is the color of young love, innocent and  
insecure.  
  
\\drip\\  
  
Red of passionate love, of fire. Red is the color the  
heart bleeds.  
  
\\drip\\  
  
Red is the color of pain and anguish.  
  
\\drip\\  
  
Love and blood...  
  
\\drip\\  
  
...are both as red as roses.  
  
***  
  
Sunlight streamed into the room through an open  
window. The space was vast for an office and  
tastefully decorated, just as Zechs remembered it. The  
tall backed chair behind the desk was facing outward.  
He resisted the urge to run back through the door he'd  
come in when he saw the corner of an elbow protruding  
past the arm of the seat. The elbow was clad in a  
familiar blue, the same startling dark blue of eyes he  
still dreamed of.  
  
He took a step forward, waiting for the walls to  
crumble around him, to deny him what he was so close  
to. Nothing happened except the chair shifted  
minutely.  
  
"Treize?" he called out tentatively, his voice loud in  
the silence.  
  
The chair creaked again as the occupant leaned  
backwards.  
  
"Milliard." There was a sigh. "I knew you'd come."  
  
It was HIM. Zechs moved forward as the chair turned  
slightly.  
  
"I said I'd be waiting, didn't I? Now we can be  
together without the world interfering, like we were  
supposed to be."  
  
***  
  
Tears streamed down his face. He closed his eyes and  
breathed deeply, biting his lip and wondering when if  
things would be the same when he looked again. The  
pain made it clear that this was no dream.  
  
Zechs opened his eyes. The room was unchanged. "It is  
you. I'd hoped, but..." His long legs made ground  
eating strides and he walked towards something he'd  
never dreamed to see again, something he thrown away  
and regretted ever since.  
  
He reached one hand to the back of the chair to turn  
it. White gloved fingers reached up to curl about his  
own. The chair moved with a squeak that ignored the  
wonder of the moment.  
  
He looked down and had to stop himself from jerking  
away. What he found was what he should have expected.  
  
One clear blue eye looked up at him, the other side of  
the face a mess of bone and flesh. As if that final  
explosion had melted him like candle wax.  
  
"What's wrong, Milliard?" There was hurt in the  
remaining orb, and despair.  
  
He swallowed, then curved his lips up in a smile.  
"Nothing's wrong."  
  
This was entirely his fault and he could not leave  
Treize like this. "Nothing, I just missed you. I won't  
leave you again."  
  
"Milliard?"  
  
He bent down and kissed him. No, he couldn't leave. He  
was responsible for this. It was what he deserved.  
  
***  
  
"Husband."  
  
The word sent a chill up Wufei's spine. That was  
something that had not been directed towards him in a  
long time.  
  
The corridor had been empty, just another portion of  
the maze he found himself trapped in. He had to find  
the others, but now...  
  
"Husband. Look at me."  
  
Something told him not to listen, to ignore the voice  
or flee, but he could not. Wufei turned, expecting  
some sort of monstrosity mimicking someone he held in  
his heart.  
  
She had not changed. Meiran, stubborn and willful,  
glared at him.  
  
"You shouldn't be here." Not here, not her. She did  
not belong in such a place. Ancestors, was this all  
that waited in the afterlife, no matter the person?  
  
"I'm here for you. I have something to ask you and  
something to tell you." She raised one hand and  
brushed it back through her dark hair and seemed to  
search for words. He back up, this was wrong, she  
shouldn't act this way. His wife had never acted like  
this towards him. Was it some sort of trap? Probably.  
Had not everything else been so far?  
  
"You're one of 'them'," he stated, dropping into a  
fighting stance. The dead couldn't be trusted here.  
  
"Wufei." She held up one hand. "Wait."  
  
But he couldn't afford to. His friends needed him.  
there was no doubt in his mind that they would have to  
work together to get out of this situation. This was  
not his wife, but another illusion. He screamed a  
battle cry as he attacked.  
  
***  
  
"My Milliard." Treize wrapped his arms around him and  
kissed him again. "Mine, always."  
  
"Yours," Zechs whispered across the short distance  
between them. He would stay here. He only brought pain  
to Wufei and Duo deserved someone better than he. He  
couldn't abandon Treize a second time, not when the  
man so obviously wanted him to stay.  
  
"You'll stay with me? Milliard?"  
  
Treize drew back and studied his face intently. Zechs  
lowered his eyes to just listen to the voice.  
  
In the back of his mind, he pushed a quick smile and  
long braided hair, buried along with it Wufei's dark  
eyes that glared at him accusingly. They were better  
without him, he brought nothing but suffering to all  
around him. Hadn't that proved true time and time  
again?  
  
***  
  
"We can't keep him here. If the Alliance should find  
him, my family will be killed."  
  
A younger Milliard Peacecraft listened quietly. He  
knew it was all his fault. He could still feel his  
mother's blood dripping down onto his face, while he  
lay beneath her body frozen with fear. A paralysis  
that had saved his life. She had shielded him with her  
own body. He couldn't allow anyone else to be hurt  
because of him.  
  
"Of course. We'll only be staying tonight. Don't  
worry, we'll be gone by morning."  
  
And they had been, and he'd been passed about like the  
unlucky token he was, with no place to call his home.  
The only comfort was the knowledge that his sister had  
been taken in, though he could never see her again. He  
could not endanger her in that way.  
  
***  
  
He looked at the screen again. It had been confirmed.  
Walker was dead, dying for the soldiers of the future,  
like Zechs had taught him, or so he had said. He  
should have done something different, he shouldn't  
have allowed this to happen. Was one mobile suit worth  
this? A mobile suit that might not even work?  
  
Walker had thought so. He would honor his memory and  
make him correct. There was nothing else Zechs could  
do.  
  
***  
  
"Otto! Otto!"  
  
"I will give my life for your dream, sir."  
  
The screen turned to static and he jerked his head to  
the direction the Tallgeese had taken.  
  
Why? I don't want you to die in my place. But he  
arrived too late. Otto had liberated the Sanq Kingdom.  
  
***  
  
Should he accept their offer? There was nothing left  
now. Relena had surrendered Sanq. He had not been in  
time.  
  
White Fang fought for the colonies, and so would he.  
This had to end, somehow. There was only one way he  
knew how to do it. This was no the time for diplomacy  
and he was no diplomat. Revenge was his business,  
revenge and death. It was certainly what he knew best.  
  
***  
  
Noin looked at him with sad eyes. "I can't do this  
anymore, Zechs. I love you, I always will, but that  
isn't enough. I..." Her voice broke, but she  
continued, "I want you to leave. I'm sorry."  
  
***  
  
One last transmission into oblivion before one of  
Earth's greatest men was gone forever. "I'll be  
waiting for you on the other side, Milliard."  
  
***  
  
"Milliard?"  
  
Zechs raised his eyes again. "Of course, Treize. Of  
course I'll stay."  
  
Welcome to eternity.  
  
***  
  
"Aaaahhh!" Wufei spun with a powerful kick aimed at  
Meiran. She didn't even attempt to block it and he  
barely managed to land in shock. He had passed right  
through her.  
  
"There's no need for that, husband. I'm just a  
messenger."  
  
"Ancestors!" he swore. "What..."  
  
"Yes, I'm dead and you are right to be wary in this  
place, but you're wasting time."  
  
He stood once again and faced her. "Why?" His thoughts  
were not coherent enough for a more complex question.  
He wasn't even sure what he was questioning.  
  
She smiled, something rarely directed at him. "You did  
as I asked, you fought for us. Thank you, Husband."  
  
He hung his head in shame. Despite that, he had not  
been able to save the place she fought and died for.  
As if reading his mind, she continued. "Do not blame  
yourself for the colony. You did what you could."  
  
"But it wasn't enough," he nearly growled. "I should  
have..."  
  
"They did what they thought was best. I... I am sorry  
that things turned out as they did. I'm sorry that you  
were hurt so much here." She reached up and her hand  
did not press on his chest over his heart, but into  
it.  
  
"No, Meiran..." He would have continued, but he  
stopped with a shiver as a ghostly hand went from his  
chest to lips to stop him.  
  
"Will you forgive me for burdening you with this?"  
  
She waited for his answer, dark eyes on his. He spoke  
in a whisper. "Yes. Meiran, I..."  
  
"Wufei," her voice sterner now, saying his name for  
the first time. "That was what I wanted to ask you,  
why I wished to be your messenger. But there isn't any  
more time. One of your friends is already beyond  
saving."  
  
She walked and he followed her. Despite her seemingly  
slow pace, it was difficult to keep up. "Come with me,  
I'll take you where you need to be."  
  
***  
  
Hands were everywhere. The undid buttons, pushing his  
shirt off around his shoulders, pressed into his  
chest, moved lower, touching him like he hadn't been  
touched since...  
  
Treize bit the juncture of neck and shoulder  
possessively, marking him, owning him. And everything  
was all right, if he just closed his eyes. Yes, if he  
just closed his eyes.  
  
Zechs bit back a moan as the other man shifted against  
him.  
  
All right, everything, he didn't have to see. This was  
Treize as he'd always been. But even that didn't block  
the quirky smile that became a frown, violet orbs  
filled with betrayal. Or how they blended into darker  
eyes, that accused him of everything. There was no  
reason for guilt, none at all.  
  
He kept his eyes closed.  
  
***  
  
"Do you love him?"  
  
There was no question about whom she meant. "I... I  
think so."  
  
"Would you do anything to save him? To bring him out  
of this place, no matter the cost?"  
  
It did not matter that his love was not returned.  
There was no doubt in his answer.  
  
"Yes."  
  
She stopped. "Always so stubborn. This is a good  
thing, you'll need to be." Meiran gazed at him sadly.  
"Remember, I'll always be with you. Now you must save  
him from himself."  
  
Her seemingly solid form began to fade and he grabbed  
for her, to keep her with him. "He's just beyond this  
door. Follow your heart."  
  
She flickered like a candle and winked out, leaving an  
afterimage engraved on both his soul and his eyes.  
  
"Follow your heart, it will not lead you astray."  
  
He pushed open the entranceway and walked in.  
  
***  
  
They'd lost it somehow, in a blur of twists and turns  
that even confused him. Quatre leaned against the wall  
panting for breath.  
  
**It's no good. They'll find you here. You can't get  
out. Both of you will pay for what happened to us.  
Murdering scum.**  
  
**No, there is an exit. I can feel it.**  
  
It did no good to argue with the voices. The dead  
could not change their ways. There was no way to  
explain that it was war and weren't they as bad as he?  
They had been soldiers, they should have expected what  
was to come.  
  
But an exit wasn't enough. Now there were only two of  
them.  
  
"Trowa, we're close, but we have to find the others."  
  
Trowa looked at him as if asking him about getting  
supplies to fight the things in this place.  
  
"No, I don't know if we can get back in once we leave.  
I don't think we're supposed to be here."  
  
Trowa nodded in response.  
  
***  
  
Wufei froze at the sight. It was like his shoes had  
suddenly become lead boots and he simply could not  
move, either forward or away. Zechs lay on the desk in  
a state of half dress, his shirt open to reveal smooth  
muscle and perfect skin broken by jagged cuts near the  
top of his chest, his pants pushed down. But most of  
this was scarcely visible with the body that covered  
him. It was not nearly so unclothed, but almost as  
familiar. It was one he had seen in his dreams and his  
nightmares for over a year. Wufei would know that  
tawny head anywhere.  
  
Emotion flooded him, but whether rage or jealousy he  
couldn't tell. Perhaps a mix of both. If it had been  
anyone but him, but it wasn't.  
  
He was there for what seemed eternity, his hands  
clenched at his sides. And damn himself for liking  
what he saw.  
  
Somehow he must have been noticed for Treize turned to  
look at him as Zechs made a sound of disappointment.  
The wreck of his face quelled any arousal he had been  
feeling.  
  
"Well, Dragon, come to join us?"  
  
Wufei's mouth opened to reply but no sound came out.  
  
"Treize? Why did you stop?" Zechs eyes flickered open  
and he followed the other's gaze to lock with Wufei's  
own. "Wufei..."  
  
And was that guilt?  
  
"No, I came for Zechs." No matter how he felt about  
Treize, no matter the things that never happened, but  
could have if either of them had been less honorable  
men.  
  
"So you would take this away from me too? My life  
wasn't enough, you'd have me stay here all alone?  
Milliard has already promised to stay with me." Treize  
smiled. "You wouldn't have him go back on his word,  
would you, Dragon?"  
  
His eyes widened and it *hurt* to know how little he  
mattered to Zechs, that he would be abandoned in an  
instant.  
  
//No matter the cost...// his wife had said. He hadn't  
known it would be his heart.  
  
Zechs pushed himself out from under Treize and  
struggled with his clothing.  
  
"Zechs? Did you?" But he already knew the answer.  
Treize had been and would always be the person closest  
to his partner's heart, his soul mate even when they  
stood facing each other across opposing armies.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"See, Dragon? He's here because he wants to be."  
  
And part of him wanted to run, but if he left Zechs  
was gone forever. And that was something he never  
wanted to happen.  
  
//Follow your heart, husband.//  
  
"Why? Why, damn you? I know you loved him, but he's  
*dead*." Something that he had spent a so long coming  
to terms with himself, and they'd never been close.  
Not like Zechs and Treize... not like Zechs and  
himself. "He's dead and you're not. You can't stay  
here." You have to stay with me.  
  
Zechs looked at him with as much pain as he was  
feeling himself. No, this had not been the easy  
instant decision he had thought it was. Somehow that  
didn't make him feel better.  
  
"I know he's dead. Of course he is. Everyone I care  
about dies or leaves me. I did this to him."  
  
Except he hadn't, it had been Wufei.  
  
"It can't happen again. No one else has to pay for my  
sins. No one else dies because of me!" The last  
sentence was a half-choked declaration. "Leave me  
here, I don't want to lose you either." Whispered  
words only heard over the absolute silence.  
  
And Wufei knew exactly what he meant, understood it  
because he had lived it himself. And he couldn't let  
it happen again now.  
  
"So you think it's not worth it? There are people  
willing to take that risk to be close to you. I'm  
willing to take that risk! It would be worth it." To  
be close to you. "Don't you dare be so weak as to take  
this as an easy way out."  
  
Don't stay here with this ghost, this specter... this  
illusion. **Ancestors!**  
  
"Do you think if this was really Treize he'd want you  
to give up on life or to fight?"  
  
"Dragon, what are you talking about?" Treize arched an  
eyebrow.  
  
"Wufei, what are you saying?"  
  
"That *thing* over there isn't Treize. It's not real,  
it's just trying to trap you here."  
  
And Zechs cast a glance at the former ruler of  
Earthsphere. Wufei continued, trying to explain.  
  
"Quatre almost was killed by his own mother, except it  
wasn't her. I saw what was left of it. I don't even  
know if it had ever been human."  
  
"Milliard, I would never do that to you."  
  
"I met a man who had been trapped in his own version  
of hell. How do you know that this isn't Treize?"  
  
"How do you know that this isn't YOUR hell? How do you  
know any of this is real? Is this what you really  
want?"  
  
Zechs stepped away as Treize reached out for him.  
"Treize wouldn't be here, shouldn't be here."  
  
"Where are you going? You promised you'd stay."  
  
Zechs walked towards Wufei and the exit. Wufei kept  
his eye on the other occupant as he followed.  
  
"You promised."  
  
Wufei turned away as well.  
  
"Milliard, don't leave me here! Please, Milliard!"  
  
TBC...  
  
NOTES  
  
Some of Zechs' flashbacks might seem a bit off from  
what actually happened, but this is because people  
remember selectively and even can create false  
memories. This is how he viewed the events looking  
back on them, especially colored by the guilt he feels. 


	11. Chapter 10 : The Value of Sacrifice

***  
Chapter 10 : The Value of Sacrifice  
***  
  
Life, our most valuable possession.  
  
\\I would die for you.\\  
  
Some people throw it away, other's cling like misers.  
But sometimes something is worth more, and so people  
give up everything for someone else no matter how much  
they want to keep it.  
  
\\Would you live for me?\\  
  
There is no greater love than this, "Live on, for me  
and in my place."  
  
***  
  
"Wufei, I'm sorry."  
  
Wufei's eyes met his and repressed tears were blinked  
away in dark eyes. Zechs looked away first, his gaze  
sweeping up the hall.  
  
//I'm willing to take the risk! It would be worth  
it.//  
  
"Did you mean it?"  
  
Wufei didn't have to ask what he was talking about.  
  
"Yes." That simple affirmative meant so much. It was  
hard to believe that mere months ago the amount of  
dislike between them.  
  
How could you respond to someone who said dying for  
you would be fair price for the time together? Not  
dying for a cause, but for HIM alone.  
  
He reached out one hand and brushed ebony hair that  
had long since escaped the confines of its usual  
ponytail and away from his partner's face.  
  
"You're right. I've been such a fool. The risk is  
worth it."  
  
Hope was worth it.  
  
***  
  
There was a flash of something in the corner of his  
eye. Zechs turned towards the movement. Wufei was  
checking the doorway across the hall. He was checking  
this one so they wouldn't have the unknown at their  
back. The room had high arches of stone, like an  
ancient cathedral. Like a node, a hub of hallways,  
many doors opened in different directions. There was  
someone standing there, shadowed by darkness. The  
outline was familiar. He knew who this was.  
  
"Duo? Thank God you're alri..." The sentence died  
unfinished as the figure stepped into the light.  
  
Zechs gasped with a hiss of indrawn breath. He was  
still beautiful.  
  
This was impossible, it was another trick of this  
devilish place. He retreated again from the  
approaching figure.  
  
Duo laughed, not the familiar quick chuckle, but a  
darker sound that curled around him like smoke and  
traveled up his spine in a shiver.  
  
"You're not leaving me so soon, are you Zechsy?"  
  
Faint light played off lips devoid of blood, their  
bluish tinge curled upward in a smile. He was encased  
in black leather that revealed as much as it hid,  
revealed that much of the flesh beneath it had been  
mutilated beyond repair, slashes held the only color  
in gouges of flesh. What skin remaining on his body  
was as pale as death. Only his eyes were alive with  
violet fire burning in their depths, framed in a still  
perfect face. He was an angel, a mutilated angel of  
suffering.  
  
He drew in a ragged breath and met those terrifying  
orbs. "Duo..." No, not Duo. He could never lose  
himself to this place, not like this.  
  
"The one and only."  
  
It couldn't be true. He had to get out of here and  
find the real Duo, not this doppelganger created out  
of the wild fantasies of a sadistic madman. There were  
only two choices, one door to his right and one to his  
left. The third door was behind the monstrosity and  
his instincts told him that going near the creature  
was to court a fate worse than death.  
  
**Heaven on my right, Hell on my left and the angel of  
death behind me.** The thought floated through his  
head, despite its inappropriateness. Hell was on all  
sides and the angel of death was in front of him and  
getting closer.  
  
There was no more time left to decide. He let his feet  
do the choosing and hoped he would be fast enough. If  
he was cornered, there would be no escape.  
  
He made it within a foot of the opening before he was  
forced back as the hallway beyond collapsed. Zechs  
fell to the ground as he turned, struck by falling  
rock. Dust filled his lungs and his ears rang as the  
noise echoed throughout the chamber. Blood dripped  
down his cheek and into his mouth, the taste of salt  
and copper mixing with fear as the Duo-double forced  
him to remain on the ground with a hand in his hair  
and another holding a knife to his throat.  
  
"I told you not to leave me." The point of the  
wickedly curved blade pressed inward, barely  
puncturing the skin. "But, since you're still here, I  
may be willing to forgive you."  
  
The blade trailed downwards, leaving a line of pain as  
it continued from his neck to his chest. The hold on  
his hair grew tighter and pulled backwards, forcing  
him to look up.  
  
Ice on his lips made his gasp in shock. The cold dead  
tongue invaded his mouth, running over teeth and  
molars, dueling with his own for space. He tried to  
pull away, but he was restrained by the inhuman  
strength in the slight form that was now straddling  
his.  
  
The invader withdrew and he struggled for breath, then  
shuddered as it moved up from his mouth to the cut on  
his upper cheek, lapping up blood. He turned his face  
away, looking around desperately for anything that  
offered even a meager hope of escape.  
  
"And here I thought you liked me."  
  
"You're not Duo," he replied unevenly, still not  
looking at that too familiar face and desperately  
denying how like Duo that voice had sounded.  
  
"Now I'm really hurt. You can't even tell it's me. So,  
tell me Zechs, why am I not me?"  
  
"He would never..." The Lightning Count was at a loss  
to describe the horror of the situation. Everything  
was wrong, all of it.  
  
"I guess you never knew me as well as you thought.  
Well, don't worry, you'll get the chance. You're not  
going to leave me like everyone else. I made a deal.  
I'm the only one here who gets to touch you."  
  
Duo ran the knife along Zechs' cheek carefully, merely  
getting him to turn his head. "You see, I'm not just  
Duo. I'm Shinigami."  
  
"You! Get off of him, bastard!" a voice yelled.   
  
***  
  
Wufei trembled with fury. Zechs had vanished in the  
maze of corridors, only to be found like this, trapped  
by the 'thing' that had once been Duo Maxwell.  
  
//One of your friends is already beyond saving.//  
  
Weakling. He had given in.  
  
Duo turned at his shout, knife still caressing Zechs'.  
He was smiling. His tongue flicked out across his  
bottom lip, catching the last vestiges of red that  
colored it.  
  
"Hello 'Fei, nice of you to show up." Eyes glittered  
dangerously.  
  
Zechs' looked at him, silently communicating that he  
should run and save himself. **No, I will not abandon  
you here.** He silently wished he was still armed, but  
there was no helping it. He could not underestimate  
the creature, if Zechs could be captured so easily.  
  
"Maxwell, I should have expected you to be so weak."  
  
"Weak?" Maxwell laughed. "Oh no. Far from it. I'm just  
goal oriented and have the guts to try to get what I  
want." He eyed Wufei with amusement. "Unlike  
yourself."  
  
Narrowing dark eyes and aware of his partner's almost  
imperceptible nod, Wufei stepped forward.  
  
***  
  
Wufei had found him. Zechs tensed as the dark warrior  
moved forward. Duo was the only one who was armed and  
he was stronger than he should be, strong as Death  
himself. But there were two of them, if only Duo would  
loosen his hold a bit.  
  
The knife moved with Duo as he glided to his feet at  
Wufei's attack. He attempted to sweep his feet out  
from under him, but this was dodged as well as Duo  
stepped out of his range.  
  
"Don't think so, Zechsy." Duo blocked Wufei's arm and  
drew his other knife, slashing forward. Wufei jumped  
backwards, narrowly avoiding the blade. Zechs was  
pulling himself to his feet when two sets of chains  
sprang out of the walls, wrapping about his wrists and  
ankles, pulling him backwards and down. They twisted  
painfully, blackened hooks on the ends stained with  
what was probably blood and flesh. The barbs hooked  
into the chain links, but cut him as well.  
  
Wufei was faring poorly as Duo didn't react to any  
blow that a mortal man should have found  
incapacitating. In turn, Duo inflicted small wounds  
with his set of curved blades, toying with the other.  
  
"So, Wu, going to lose again, huh?"  
  
Schnick.  
  
"I mean, you should have known better."  
  
Slash.  
  
"And you called me weak?"  
  
Wufei backed up farther, nearly falling on a piece of  
the crumbled corridor that had sent Zechs sprawling.  
  
"You can't save anyone. Not your clan, not your  
colony. No one. You always lose."  
  
There was an angry growl in response through panting  
breaths.  
  
"Oh, 'Fei, how did your meeting with Treize go?"  
  
"Wufei, no!" Zechs yelled, but it was too late.  
  
Wufei, however, had no intention of being goaded into  
a foolish act. Instead, he caught Duo's right arm,  
twisting it at an inhuman angle, pulling the other  
close and jabbing his knee into his gut. Caught off  
balance by the act, Duo fell when the Chinese  
Preventor used all his strength to flip him onto the  
ground.  
  
But then Duo just laughed. Zechs struggled again, the  
chains drawing tighter and liquid warmth trickled down  
his arms.  
  
"Well, Duo, I wonder what Heero's up to right now,"  
Wufei snarled nastily.  
  
The laughter ceased. There was no warning, and Zechs  
realized just how gentle Duo had been with him, when  
identical chains reached out and grabbed Wufei. They  
looped about his frame, hooks burying in flesh and  
pulled backwards, tearing. He flew backwards into the  
wall.  
  
Thud.  
  
"Wufei!"  
  
The chains released and Wufei fell two feet to the  
floor. Duo got up and walked over to him, lifting his  
face upwards like he had done to Zechs moments before.  
He had placed one knife back at his waist and was  
gripping the other.  
  
"Now, 'Fei, that wasn't very nice."  
  
"Don't!" Zechs practically screamed.  
  
"Sorry, Zechsy, but I'm being merciful here. I mean,  
he was a friend and all."  
  
"Don't." The word was quiet and the voice female. Duo  
jumped backwards at the sudden apparition that  
appeared around Wufei, dressed in traditional Chinese  
dress. Wufei raised his head slightly.  
  
"Meiran?" he asked.  
  
"You have to leave, husband." Wufei struggled to his  
feet at the words, but couldn't seem to get up.  
  
"I don't think so, bitch." Duo moved forward.  
  
She smiled grimly, putting one hand out to stop him.  
The hand reached Duo's chest. For a moment nothing  
happened, then the faint light of the room changed to  
something else, golden radiance emanating from where  
the two touched, filling the room with the appearance  
of sunlight.   
  
Duo screamed.  
  
***  
  
Wufei jerked his head up despite the pain and the  
disorientation. The light was blinding, gold and  
hopeful. Zechs struggling across the room had stopped  
and was staring in amazement as the chains containing  
him dissolved into nothing. The blond man rushed over  
to him around the display in the center of the room.  
  
Duo was still screaming as his wife walked closer into  
him. Screaming like his soul was being torn out.  
  
"Can you get up? Do you need help?" He looked into  
blue blue eyes. This was not the time for pride.  
  
"I need help."  
  
He suspected something was wrong with his leg. It hurt  
unbelievably and was the reason he had collapse when  
he had first tried to stand.  
  
"Here."  
  
Zechs levered him to his feet, half carrying him to  
the entranceway he had come from. They managed to  
reach the corridor which was lit by the radiance  
behind them. He nearly jumped out of his skin when  
suddenly the only sound was the scuffle of their feet  
on the stones below.  
  
He looked back. Duo was gritting his teeth in Meiran's  
embrace.  
  
Thunk.  
  
The knife he had been clutching dropped to the floor,  
rolling away, and Duo clenched his fists. He looked  
towards them, eyes blazing.  
  
"You can't make him leave. You have no power here."  
  
It was like a wildfire, but cold and dark. An icy  
flame that seemed to suck up the aura around it  
surrounded the demon. For a moment, that was all,  
until it swept through everything, eating the light  
with it. He could see Meiran's face melt like wax and  
now she was the one screaming.  
  
"No, Meiran!" He almost struggled away from Zechs to  
reach her, even though there was nothing he could do.  
The cold flame reached the corridor. Pain flared again  
in his head. The world went dark.  
  
***  
  
This hall was collapsing as well. Zechs carried Wufei,  
trying not to be crushed or knocked unconscious like  
his partner.  
  
When the... angel, he supposed, had been destroyed, it  
seemed like the world was falling down. He'd panicked  
as Wufei's eyes had rolled back in his head when the  
rock had struck him, but he was still alive. Thank  
God.  
  
At least there was no way the 'other' could reach  
them, for now at least. The path behind them was  
blocked. His last glance at Duo through the dust and  
debris had chilled him, and he knew they had to get  
out of here now. There had to be a way. This was all  
his fault.  
  
He paused as they came to another intersection, now  
safe for the moment. **Which way?** Praying he was  
correct, to a God he had doubted existed, he limped  
forward. Wufei needed help, and unless they reached it  
soon, he doubted that his companion would wake again.  
  
***  
  
"That way. I'm sure of it." Quatre pointed. SOMETHING  
had happened in that direction and he had no doubt it  
had to do with their missing companions. Trowa nodded,  
trusting his judgment in the matter.  
  
**I hope they're alright,** he thought. Whatever had  
happened hadn't been pleasant.  
  
And he had the feeling that time was running out,  
trickling out like sand between his fingers.  
  
TBC... 


	12. Chapter 11 : Game Over or Continue

***  
Chapter 11 : Game Over or Continue...  
***  
  
Who doesn't like games? Most people like to play.  
  
\\-100 points\\  
  
Of course, not all games are fun for the participants.  
  
\\-200 points\\  
  
And too bad for the losers you can't always hit  
replay, you can't fix everything.  
  
\\-50 points... Game Over or Continue.\\  
  
But sometimes, just sometimes, you can.  
  
***  
  
When he saw them, Zechs tensed. His eyes were blurry  
and he was more tired than he would admit to himself.  
Wufei was heavier than he looked.  
  
"Zechs!" It was Quatre. Thank God. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, but Wufei needs help."  
  
Trowa gave his partner a cursory examination, his  
expression still as stone. Quatre, however, looked at  
him. "Are you sure you're okay?" His eyes were glued  
to his chest where his and Wufei's blood had dried  
into an itching glue on cloth and skin. Zechs looked  
down at the remnants of his encounter with Angelique  
and Duo. While the flesh visible in the cuts was still  
red and raw, the skin around them had turned a pasty  
bluish white that spread outwards in fine spider web  
patterns.  
  
"I'll be alright."  
  
"I think I know how to get back to the ship. Have you  
seen Duo? He was with you."  
  
"Yes, he was the one who did this to Wufei." Among  
other things. "We should leave now before he finds us  
again."  
  
"Are you sure it was him?"  
  
At first he hadn't been, but now he knew better. It  
had been Duo, that had been no deception. He hadn't  
wanted to see that Treize had been false, but he  
should have known. This time he knew it was true even  
when he wished it to be otherwise. Zechs' lips  
tightened at the memory and Quatre obviously took that  
as an answer. He exchanged a glace with Trowa and  
directed them back the way they had come.  
  
***  
  
Quatre felt like all his senses were raw and open.  
There was no doubt Zechs thought he was speaking the  
truth, anguish rubbing like salt into his already  
wounded mind.  
  
There was the promise of soothing calm behind them,  
but he knew it for the trick it was. Such was only the  
emptiness of the void, the silence of the dead. That  
was not where they wanted to go.  
  
But, almost drowned out by everything around it, was  
the faint song of normality. He could just catch it,  
like a glimpse from the corner of his eye that moved  
out of reach when he tried to look at it directly.  
  
Quatre dragged his feet forward, directing his  
comrades onwards. Trowa looked at him with concern,  
but with a near imperceptible gesture he reassured the  
other man, even if he wished nothing more than to give  
in. He then trained his eyes on Wufei for a moment.  
Trowa nodded. Wufei needed to get out of here as  
quickly as possible. Anything that knocked a man  
unconscious was usually serious, plus the Preventor  
would be unable to defend himself if they were  
attacked.  
  
Which brought something else to mind, something he  
wanted to avoid, but Zechs' presence made it difficult  
to sweep the thought aside again.  
  
**Duo. What happened to you?**  
  
Had Duo been the presence he'd felt? It seemed likely  
now.  
  
The worst part was it wasn't as surprising as it  
should have been. Duo always had a certain darkness  
inside him that he tried to keep hidden. Something  
that even Quatre had trouble picking up on and he  
wondered if anyone else had even suspected its  
existence.  
  
Something he had deliberately ignored. Duo was his  
friend and a fellow Gundam pilot. Each of them issues  
like these. Duo was someone he'd trust with his life  
and someone he liked to spend time with. The other's  
personality couldn't help but captivate and dull one's  
senses to the danger Duo presented.  
  
Given a choice between facing Heero and Duo, he'd pick  
Heero every time.  
  
***  
  
It was almost anticlimactic. Not that that was a bad  
thing. Instead of the expected fight, they had merely  
followed Quatre's instructions and walked through that  
final door.  
  
The endless walls of stone vanished abruptly, turning  
into familiar metal illuminated by emergency lights.  
  
Zechs wasn't able to work up the energy or emotion to  
smile. All he was was thankful that Wufei still  
breathing, given his condition. His muscles were  
strained from carrying his smaller partner, but he  
wouldn't let go of this burden for the world. Trowa  
had offered, but it was better if Trowa was empty  
handed for the sake of defense. Plus he knew that  
Wufei was like this because of him.  
  
Because Zechs hadn't been strong enough, fast enough,  
good enough. Like always.  
  
One step. Another step. Move forward, onward. Once  
again, step.  
  
Don't think, just move. Just keep going.  
  
They had to get to the shuttle. From there, they could  
try for the colony.  
  
Step.  
  
The communications had to work. The shuttle wasn't  
meant for long distances.  
  
Step.  
  
But the momentum of the ship itself would help push  
them in the right direction.  
  
Step.  
  
Momentum...  
  
Step.  
  
Stop.  
  
"Good God. The ship's headed straight for the colony."  
  
***  
  
Zechs had stopped dead still in front of him.  
  
"What is it?" Quatre was asking, but the man didn't  
seem to hear him.  
  
"Good God. The ship's headed straight for the colony.  
It will get there before we will."  
  
That was not good news. Trowa remembered how the  
communications had been strangely knocked out even  
when nothing had been wrong with them. If that still  
held true, they might be bringing a death trap back  
and they couldn't warn anyone. Even with the various  
damages to the propulsion system, it had more power  
than the small shuttle.  
  
He looked at Quatre. There might not even be any  
danger now that they were back in the ship.  
  
Quatre caught his glance and bit his lower lip.  
"They're still there, I can feel it."  
  
Zechs was correct, then.  
  
But there was nothing they could do. Perhaps hope that  
if they got the shuttle out of range, communications  
would again be accessible. There was no protection  
from something so vast, they could not destroy it.  
  
He gestured forward. The sooner they got there, the  
better the chance that they could get a signal through  
in time. That, or make their way to the control room  
and try to turn the autopilot off.   
  
No one moved.  
  
Quatre had his eyes closed, thinking. "I think there's  
a way..."  
  
"The box," finished Zechs.  
  
***  
  
The dream. It had not been a nightmare, but a warning.  
  
The sharp point had dug into his hand. He couldn't  
hold on to it. And then there was darkness, and  
voices. Voices he knew now so much better.  
  
But one voice stood out. //No protections now.//  
  
Duo had given him the box and told him to share, but  
he'd lost it and then everything else. If there was no  
other way, they had to get the box.  
  
"I think there's a way..."  
  
"The box."  
  
"Yes." But it was obvious that Wufei no longer had the  
object. In fact, it was unlikely Wufei had been  
carrying it earlier when they had met him. "It's  
probably still up in the control room."  
  
Trowa narrowed his eyes. "We could disable the  
autopilot."  
  
//The engines are stuck on autopilot.//  
  
"Wufei tried to shut it down already. We'd have to go  
to the engine room." Which is too far in the wrong  
direction. The direction that would take them back  
through all the things they were trying to leave  
behind.  
  
"Hm."  
  
Like always, Trowa caught the things he hadn't said as  
well.  
  
"To summon the Order of the Gash, solve the puzzle..."  
Zechs was murmuring, like the memory of something read  
or heard before. "I'll go," he said, much more firmly  
than his previous musing.  
  
But Zechs looked exhausted. Trowa would be a better  
choice to get there faster. Zechs continued. "It's not  
far to the shuttle bay, but with Wufei like this it's  
better if I go. You two can get him and yourselves  
there safely."  
  
Quatre looked at Wufei's limp body. He seemed so much  
smaller without his fiery personality animating him.  
  
Trowa blinked. He agreed then.  
  
"Alright."  
  
"If I don't get back soon, leave without me."  
  
***  
  
The room was empty. The box was gone. Zechs' heart  
sank into his stomach. Without it, there was no way to  
stop this madness.  
  
He searched behind the equipment frantically. There  
was so little time. Trowa would be leaving without him  
in a few minutes, minutes that Wufei could ill afford.  
  
The door opened, but not as it should have. The  
already abused metal warping further out of alignment.  
He grabbed for a broken chair leg, the closet thing to  
a weapon he could get.   
  
A chuckle reached his ears as he stood to face the  
intruder. "Looking for this?" a voice asked slyly.  
  
***  
  
Duo smiled, cradling the Lament Configuration gently,   
his fingers stroking its sides lovingly as he spun it  
around for Zechs to see. His eyes traced over the now  
bedraggled form, taking in the blonde's pathetic  
attempt at armament. Not that such things could touch  
him anymore. No, he was untouchable unless he wished  
it otherwise.  
  
Of course, he'd never minded the idea of Zechs  
touching him. Quite the opposite actually.  
  
Yes, the man looked bedraggled. Bedraggled.   
  
And beautiful.  
  
The glare directed his way was fierce, he could  
practically feel its scorching touch on his flesh. His  
tongue flickered over perfect white teeth. He liked  
the killer he saw reflected in those eyes. This was  
the man who had managed to match the Gundams, the man  
who had brought Earth to its knees.  
  
His. His alone.  
  
He'd been promised and such bargains could not be  
renegaded on. Even here.  
  
Especially here.  
  
"What's wrong, Zechsy? Didn't expect to see me again?"  
  
"No."  
  
"As if I'd let something like you get away so easily."  
  
No, Zechs wouldn't leave him here. Not if Duo could  
help it. And he could.  
  
//What do you wish for?//  
  
He'd been misunderstood. It was obvious that Zechs  
thought he was there to deliver some sort of low level  
torment. He would never waste so much potential, a  
diamond in the ruff.  
  
But Zechs had no idea of his value, the air about him  
buzzing with pain, self-hatred and guilt. And, mixed  
among all this, icy rage concealed even from himself,  
the swift ability destroy held in check by his shame  
and the potential for passionate emotion. Emotion he  
was wasting using it against himself. The last three  
were like music that sang to Duo, a heavenly chorus.  
Like the secret song, the true song, the song that  
permitted everything, the beat of particles and atoms,  
the burning of stars. The sound of screams, the song  
of metal on flesh.  
  
Or it would have been had it not been corrupted by the  
first three voices that he might have considered  
exquisite with anyone else. No, but without them,  
perfect.  
  
***  
  
It seemed that whatever had jammed the main  
communications system had also stopped transmissions  
from the shuttle. Trowa turned to his lover.  
  
"Keep trying. I'm going to look for weapons."  
  
There were some, he knew. This shuttle should be  
equipped for every emergency. Quatre moved into his  
former seat, his voice raspy from screaming as he  
spoke, calling anyone within range for help.  
  
He went into the back cabin, where Wufei lay,  
breathing unsteadily. Occasionally, the Asian man  
would twitch away from something only he could see.  
  
Trowa opened the white metal doors in the walls,  
revealing storage a small storage area. There were  
medical supplies, a primitive first aid kit. He pulled  
them out, Wufei would need them. The next was less  
useful at the moment, but extra food might be  
important later. He closed it with a click.  
  
The third was what he was looking for, though the  
supplies were meager. He grabbed extra bullets and the  
two hand guns, loading one and slipping it into the  
small of his back.  
  
"Any luck?"  
  
Quatre looked at him, saying it all with his eyes.  
  
"We'll try after we get off the ship." Leading the  
other threw the door, he handed Quatre the other gun.  
"I've found the first aid kit for Wufei." He paused  
for a moment, steeling himself. "I'm going to help  
Zechs."  
  
Quatre bit his lower lip, but nodded in understanding.  
They could not just abandon him, especially not if it  
was the only way to stop this from reaching the  
colony.  
  
"Be careful."  
  
"I will."  
  
Wrapping his arms around the shorter man's shoulders,  
he leaned down and kissed him, trying to put all his  
feeling into it. Quatre was his heart and his soul. He  
was nothing without him.  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too. I won't leave without you."  
  
Trowa gripped Quatre's shoulders, staring into his  
eyes. "Yes, you will if you have to."  
  
"You're all I have."  
  
"What about your family? What about Wufei?"  
  
Tears bunching in the corners eyes, Quatre nodded.  
"Only if..." He didn't go any further.  
  
Trowa kissed him again, then turned to the door. "If  
anyone besides Zechs or I tries to get in, shoot  
them."  
  
***  
  
Cats stalk their prey, not just for food, but for  
entertainment, leaving that thin thread of hope, of  
escape, until their tearing, rending claws and teeth  
ended everything. Duo padded in that same sly way and  
part of Zechs knew that there would be no ultimate  
escape. Even if he could run, the box was *there*, so  
close and so far away.  
  
His throat burned with every breath, but he held onto  
the control he knew he would need even as his palms  
became damp. And part of him was prepared. No matter  
his feelings, he could do what he thought needed to be  
done. Just a mission like so many before. This was not  
Duo, no matter what the thing said, even if part of  
him knew this was a lie. How well had he really known  
Duo anyway?  
  
But Duo had never looked at him like this. Maybe with  
a bit of lust, but never like he wanted to tear him to  
pieces, to reach inside him deep enough to pull free  
his still beating heart. No, Duo had never looked at  
him that way. *No one* had ever looked at him like  
that, something he was now grateful for as a bead of  
sweat trickled down his spine. Because he didn't know  
if it was figurative or literal.  
  
"Well, Zechs, did you really expect this to be sitting  
here waiting for you?"  
  
Twist. Flash.  
  
And was it all so wrong that he had? That he had hoped  
it was possible to fix things, to make up in some way  
everything he'd done wrong in his life?  
  
"Was that all that you were here for? No, I don't  
think so."  
  
The questions were rhetorical. Duo was talking to  
himself, his head quirked slightly to one side and his  
expression looked familiar, too familiar, faintly lit  
up with excitement as he worked out what was puzzling  
him.  
  
Violet eyes traveled over where he had vainly  
attempted to get the controls working, passed them  
onto their location.  
  
"Oh, I see now. We're heading for the colony still,  
aren't we?"  
  
Something must have revealed his affirmative, since  
Duo smiled and nodded at him.  
  
"Don't worry about it. I don't care about them at all.  
I'm only here for you, baby."  
  
"But you're not the only one here, are you?" His voice  
was surprisingly steady.  
  
Duo sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'm not even the one  
in charge... yet." The wink that followed would have  
seemed impish the day before, but became even more  
disturbing for it. "Though I'm sure that the two of us  
could change that."  
  
Good God. There was no reply he could make to that  
statement and all it implied.  
  
And Duo moved, grabbing his crude weapon and twisting  
it out of his grasp as he fell to his knees. One hand  
grabbed his throat and he could feel Duo pressing into  
his back; metal, leather and flesh trying to conform  
to his contours. But while the flesh could, the rest  
instead dug into him painfully. There was no chance  
for even his reflexes to react in time to escape.  
Zechs knew Duo could break his neck or rip his throat  
with one move.  
  
"So what do you say? I think we could make a pretty  
good team."  
  
Nibble. Teeth delicately, gently, bit his left earlobe  
before Duo trailed his tongue down his neck. And he  
was cold, so cold, like ice.  
  
"You don't have to be so quiet."  
  
"Why?" Why him? Why this? Why everything?  
  
"Because the look in your eyes when you thought I was  
going to kill Wufei was the most beautiful thing I'd  
ever seen."  
  
His breath brushed past teeth and hummed in his ears  
and his world went still.  
  
Teeth marked the skin of his neck, but just enough for  
pain.  
  
"Because you're so close to perfection."  
  
Duo's other hand reached up and pressed against his  
abdomen. Part of Zechs wondered detachedly where the  
box had gone, but the thought was too far away to hold  
onto.  
  
"Because you're not Heero, you could understand if you  
let yourself."  
  
The hand on his throat rose and pushed his face  
around. Duo moved it and grabbed his hair like he had  
done in their previous encounter, twisting around so  
he was facing Zechs, bringing himself a mere  
hairsbreadth away. The air from his sentence moved  
against his lips like butterfly kisses, faint and  
ethereal.  
  
"Because you're not going to leave me alone like  
everyone else. You're mine."  
  
The grip tightened and Duo was in front of him, his  
other hand caressing his jaw line and resting on his  
neck, thumb pressing upwards under his chin.  
  
"I'm not going to let you go."  
  
He couldn't look in those eyes. They burned. They  
devoured. They threatened to swallow him whole, pull  
him in and bury him in darkness.  
  
//"Never let you go, Milliard."  
  
Zechs smiled. Treize's eyes practically glowed. He  
wasn't lying, this wasn't one of his many games. This  
Treize, this sincerity, belonged to him alone.  
  
"Forever then."  
  
"Forever. I mean it. This life and the next."  
  
He'd never been so happy to drown in that gaze, in  
that touch. Never...//  
  
Not again. Don't look, don't look...  
  
Zechs' gaze darted away, working over clean lines and  
right angles, following gouges and scratches made with  
too much ease in metal. And there it was, out of  
reach. So close. So distant. And he knew he couldn't  
let Duo know he'd seen it so focused again on the  
being in front of him.  
  
But Duo's gaze no longer was on his face, no longer  
trying to pull his soul out through his eyes and  
consume him utterly until he didn't want to leave,  
until this was all and everything. Instead, it had  
traveled down to his chest.  
  
Duo hissed an indrawn breath. "Who did this?"  
  
How had he not seen it before? Perhaps he'd been too  
busy leaving marks of his own.  
  
"Angelique."  
  
"I'll kill the bitch."  
  
"Too late."  
  
Duo looked up then. "Good," he whispered, his voice  
husky and possessive before running one finger down  
the painful tear. **I'm not yours,** he wanted to say,  
but he couldn't. So much for doing what needed to be  
done. He could feel the vibrations in the air.  
  
Give in, give in.  
  
**No.**  
  
Too late, you already have.  
  
**No, not yet, not ever.**  
  
That's what you think. But you aren't fighting that  
hard, are you?  
  
**I can't. He'll kill me.**  
  
No, he won't. You can't hurt this one, he's already  
dead. But you want to give in.  
  
**God, help me.**  
  
But God wasn't answering so he turned his prayers to  
others.  
  
**Treize...**  
  
Someone, anyone. I can't help myself.  
  
**... Wufei!**  
  
Except the last came out not as a thought, but a low  
moan.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
Thunk. His knee wrenched in its socket and Zechs' head  
hit the floor and he saw stars.  
  
"Do you think he can help you? Oh no. If you won't  
come this way, I'll just have to be more convincing."  
  
And the tone said exactly how he'd be convincing. No  
longer seductive, but colored with anger. But Zechs  
vision was swimming, things were moving that  
shouldn't, like how the doorway shifted into a blur  
and seemed to come closer of Duo's shoulder.  
  
"You belong here. You just don't know it yet."  
  
Then that blur came into focus.  
  
Trowa. Who couldn't do anything because Zechs was also  
in the line of fire.  
  
**Do it, do it. Because if you don't I'll stay. I'll  
stay. Please, don't let me.**  
  
But it was too late. Duo's eyes narrowed and he pulled  
Zechs up and over, holding him in front.  
  
"Well, Tro-tro. Nice of ya to join the party too."  
Zechs winced as Duo leaned in closer. "Sorry, sexy, we  
just can't seem to get any time alone. Always gettin'  
interrupted."  
  
Zechs gave the box a pointed stare, but Trowa didn't  
acknowledge it. After all, how could he without  
alerting Duo?  
  
But wasn't his life nothing compared to the colony  
they were trying to save? Nothing compared to his  
comrades'? To Wufei's?  
  
//I'm willing to take that risk.//  
  
**So am I.**  
  
He'd planned his whole life to die. Was there anything  
different now?  
  
No.  
  
Yes.  
  
But that didn't matter.  
  
He flung his head back and saw stars again as it  
connected with Duo. But pain was nothing either. Used  
the surprise to pull away, pull down, to move out of  
the way.  
  
But the grip was still strong.  
  
One move at it would be over.  
  
A snap like thunder in a small area, echoing off walls  
and he was free. Zechs dropped forward onto his hands  
and grabbed the box.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Run, run, and don't look back. Don't see what just  
happened to Duo. Don't think about it. You have to get  
back to Wufei... Wufei...  
  
***  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Trowa kept his eye on Duo's fallen form as Zechs  
struggled upward. He nodded his agreement.  
  
He moved backwards towards the door, navigating by  
instinct and feel. Zechs moved at his back into the  
hall.  
  
Duo still wasn't moving. Trowa turned when he reached  
the doorway, though he still kept alert for anything  
behind him.  
  
Zechs was a few meters ahead. The blond man was  
panting, resting his arm against the wall, bent at the  
waist as if he was having difficulty supporting his  
own weight. Trowa did not know what, if any, injuries  
his clothing hid. Clenched between fingers with  
whitening knuckles was the box, the thing they had  
been looking for.  
  
"Can you walk?"  
  
"Slowly. I'm having trouble with my knee."  
  
Trowa thought for a moment before offering his spare  
arm. He wasn't going to leave Zechs behind, but they  
had to reach the shuttle as quickly as possible. The  
Preventor looped his other arm around Trowa's  
shoulders as they started moving as quickly as  
possible.  
  
Instants were hours, seconds eternity. They moved  
forward, Trowa always keeping half an eye behind them  
for danger.  
  
The only sound in the ghostlike emergency lit hall was  
footsteps, the shuffle of clothes and rattled tired  
breathing.  
  
**Quatre, we're almost there.**  
  
The bay was in sight, a light at the end of the  
tunnel. The wide entranceway was an inviting relief. A  
few more minutes, that was all they would need.  
  
Snick.  
  
Ting.  
  
Clang.  
  
Three chains sprang from the walls and floor,  
attaching to their opposites, creating a spider web  
blocking their way.  
  
Trowa turned back. There was a faint blur at the end  
of the hall, human shaped, but vague like smoke. There  
was only one person it could be. Duo. Duo, who he'd  
just shot at close range. There was no way he could  
have missed. Duo should be dead.  
  
Zechs pushed chains aside with his hand and tried to  
slip between them. His pant caught on the one and tore  
down the side, stained red.  
  
"Trowa! Move!"  
  
Trowa followed him as Zechs pulled to give him a  
larger opening. It was a near futile effort, the  
chains were taunt and buried in metal.  
  
Duo was walking, but he seemed to be gaining on them  
so much faster. Trowa paced his steps with Zechs' and  
the pair tried to go as quickly as possible, but it  
was no good.  
  
The chains dropped at his feet allowing Duo to pass  
without stopping. He laughed at their attempt at  
escape even as they reached the entrance.  
  
"You're not going anywhere."  
  
Duo reached his hand up and placed his palm against  
the wall. For a moment nothing happened, but, like  
ripples on a pond, *something* sprang outwards. It was  
the stonework that had trapped them earlier.   
  
They weren't going to make it. It was coming towards  
them, faster than they could move.  
  
Zechs let go of him and fell into the wall beside the  
door controls.  
  
"Run, get them out of here. Go, go now."  
  
And he ran, to Quatre. Because Zechs was right, he  
couldn't make it in time otherwise.  
  
"Tell Wufei that it's worth it," called out Zechs  
voice behind him as he ran. Ran to the shuttle,  
turning to shut the door.  
  
Zechs stood in the doorway, eyes locked on his. The  
darkness had almost reached him.  
  
"Quatre! We have to take off."  
  
The engine roared to life as he ran to the cockpit.  
They would have to ram through the bay's outer door.  
Trowa flung himself down into his seat as the shuttle  
began to move.   
  
He looked at the outer visuals. Zechs was still  
watching them, pleading him to save Wufei, just as he  
was to save Quatre.  
  
Zechs turned away, then glanced back quickly. Whether  
his face held fear, hope or despair, the cameras  
couldn't tell him. One hand reached up to the controls  
as Zechs lowered his gaze.  
  
The door slammed shut forever.  
  
***  
  
He allowed one last look at the shuttle before  
reaching up and closing the door, which locked in  
front of him.  
  
Zechs fumbled with the puzzle. If he could close it,  
he could stop this. His fingers played over the  
surface, pushing and testing, pulling and prodding.  
  
The corner turned. He could hear noises behind him.  
Zechs ignored them, all his concentration on his task.  
  
He pushed, and the center piece moved. He turned it  
and pressed it back in. His heart pounded like a  
tribal drum in the primal rhythm of fear and  
desperation. He ignored the shudder of the ship as the  
shuttle plowed its way out.  
  
Almost... almost...  
  
And it was working, things were falling into place  
like that was how it was supposed to be.  
  
The air was thick and cloying, it clung to him like  
spectral fingers pawing at his body, passing over him  
like the cold hand of Death. The door vanished,  
replaced by a stone wall.  
  
The final piece clicked into place.  
  
Nothing happened. He shuddered as a hand touched his  
shoulder.  
  
"You stayed."  
  
The box fell from numbed fingers.  
  
Click, clack...  
  
It rolled on the floor and came to rest unnoticed.  
  
***  
  
The shuttle turned direction in Quatre's able hands.  
He knew Zechs was still down there, but there was  
nothing they could do. He took one last look, a  
commemoration for a fallen comrade who had given  
himself to save them.  
  
It built in the air like a static charge, and *things*  
twittered at him. He ignored them, the voices didn't  
belong to him.  
  
**Goodbye, Zechs. We'll take care of Wufei. Thank  
you.**  
  
The hairs on his arms rose. **What...**  
  
Suddenly, it was all back. The millions of voices,  
they screamed at him, they pulled at him, and that one  
voice touched him yet again and he felt pain, so much  
pain.  
  
The ship itself lit up, like a small sun, the light  
that wasn't light swirled around it. It was so bright  
and it hurt him. Trowa jerked up from his controls,  
but it was too late...  
  
There was a flash even brighter than the rest...  
  
...then darkness as the voices dragged him down again  
before vanishing. The blackness was so cold and empty.  
  
TBC... 


	13. Chapter 12 : Ah! The Sweet Suffering

***  
Chapter 12 : Ah! The Sweet Suffering  
***  
  
So you think we're done? Ah, don't be so hasty.  
  
\\Sugar, spice\\  
  
We've come so far together.  
  
\\Everything nice\\  
  
But all isn't over yet.  
  
\\That's what you are\\  
  
Remember, this is only the beginning of the story.  
  
***  
  
Trowa kept his hands from shaking by will alone.  
Quatre had collapsed next to him.  
  
//It's worth it.//  
  
Eyes pleaded.  
  
//Eyes still pleaded with him even as he left them  
behind forever, abandoned them. Zechs staring at him  
across the hanger bay, before slamming the door closed  
to face the demons behind him.//  
  
Demons. And one of those demons that he knew. Even  
called friend.  
  
Quatre whimpered from unconsciousness.  
  
//A flash of blinding white from inside. For a moment  
outlined in light. Then nothing, blackness, like the  
ship had never existed at all.//  
  
He reached forward and hit the distress call, letting  
the blackness take him as well.   
  
***  
  
Hal blinked for a second at the readings, surprised at  
the results. This had been the last ditch effort of  
sweep the area for the missing Preventors. It looked  
like it was probably a success.  
  
"We've found them," he called out.  
  
Hal looked at the visual monitor. The shuttle reminded  
him of a lost child, small against the darkness. It  
was clearly the emergency shuttle that had been left  
on the Prometheus in case of trouble.  
  
"Attempting communication."  
  
He flicked the switch and spoke into the microphone  
attached to his headset. "This is Rescue Mission 082,  
please respond Shuttle 564."  
  
He exchanged a glance with Robby, who shook his head.  
Static had been their only answer, there was no  
response at all from the shuttle.  
  
"Shuttle 564, please respond." Again, the answer was  
silence. Everyone on board knew what that meant. Now  
there was mutterings behind him.  
  
Susan Thomptson, the commander on this mission, called  
out sternly. "This is not the time for gossip."  
Everything went silent.  
  
She turned to Hal, her blue eyes dark. "Tell them we  
are coming in. They may just be injured and unable to  
answer."  
  
Unlikely, but the slim possibility was worth it.  
  
"We have you in visual and are attempting to make  
contact. Help is on the way."  
  
Robby continued to monitor for a response, even some  
shift not caused by the waves of all the stars around  
them. He glanced at Thomptson's straight back. She was  
ordering people into suits to send over to  
investigate.  
  
Hal just shrugged. There wasn't much else he could do.  
He was just a comm runner after all.  
  
***  
  
He pulled off his gloves and reached out to touch the  
body. Not only was it still warm, it was breathing.  
  
Greg didn't consider himself to be a religious man,  
but it was times like this he gave a second thought to  
the idea. The man wasn't large and, to his  
astonishment, he realized just how young he was. Youth  
was disguised by the beating he'd obviously taken. H  
wasn't even twenty, if that. **Jesus, it's just a  
kid.**  
  
He spoke into his comm.  
  
"We've got a live one. He's in pretty bad shape. We  
should try to get him out of here pronto."  
  
Someone had managed to stop most of the bleeding.  
Crude bandages had been tied, as if by unstable or  
childlike hands. His ankle had been splinted, and he'd  
been tied to keep from moving. Which meant someone  
else was onboard.  
  
"Look around. Somebody helped this guy, there's  
someone else here."  
  
"Sure thing, boss."  
  
He gestured two of the others to check controls.  
"We'll need a stretcher. I'm no doctor, but he's  
pretty messed up and unconscious. Get Fletcher up  
here, we need his medical expertise."  
  
"Hey, we've got two more in here."  
  
"That it? There should be two more."  
  
"No, unless they've been stuffed into storage, this is  
it."  
  
***  
  
"Make sure they look at the data log. I want to know  
where they've been."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am." Hal relayed the order to the outside  
team. She probably wanted to track down the missing  
ship, as well as the two missing Preventors.  
  
He cocked his head. "They're sending the data over  
now, Ma'am."  
  
She nodded her response, before scrolling threw it.  
"Send this to the other ships, we'll divide into  
sectors..."  
  
***  
  
"Ma'am?"  
  
Susan looked up at the comm officer. "Yes?"  
  
"They've completed the sweep of the area. There's no  
trace of the Prometheus anywhere, not even scrap  
metal."  
  
"Tell them to keep looking," she said. "Ships just  
don't vanish. We've had the entire area surrounded,  
there's no where they could have gone."  
  
No, ships just didn't vanish into thin air, not ones  
that size. Not when they were working on less than  
half power and unstable systems. Not when the entire  
area was crawling with Preventor agents looking for  
just precisely that. Susan knew it had to be there.  
Somewhere.  
  
"Sector C responds negative."  
  
"Sector D responds negative."  
  
"Sector E..."  
  
***  
  
There was a loud knock at the door. Damien jumped up  
with a start. Who could this be? He wasn't expecting  
company. He opened the door just a crack and peered  
out. There was a man dressed in a blue currier's  
uniform.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Damien McNeil?"  
  
He opened the door wider, after unlocking the chain.  
"Yes?"  
  
"I have a package for you, sir. If you'll sign here."  
The young man held out a clipboard and a pen.  
  
"Oh, certainly." He scribbled his name illegibly on  
the paper.  
  
"Here you are, sir. Have a good day."  
  
"You too," he replied absently, wondering what the  
package was. He took the box to his desk and cleared a  
space, pulling out a penknife to cut the box open. On  
top of the contents sat a letter. Despite his  
curiosity, he pulled the letter out first. It was  
dangerous to do otherwise given the nature of the  
things he collected.  
  
//Dear Mr. McNeil,// it read.  
  
//A few weeks ago, you sent me a great deal of  
information on the Order of the Gash. This is a return  
of the favor. I hope your curiosity will be satisfied.  
  
Sincerely,  
Duo Maxwell//  
  
He pulled the packing from the rest of the box.   
  
Flash.  
  
Gold glimmered and his hand met a smooth surface. He  
pulled the puzzle from its confines and stared at it.  
This was something he had never expected. **Did you  
satisfy YOUR curiosity, Mr. Maxwell?** He doubted he  
would ever know.  
  
TBC... 


	14. Epilogue : And Ever After

***  
Epilogue : And Ever After  
***  
  
Fairy tales always end the same way, don't they?  
  
\\And then what happened, Mommy? Did the mermaid marry  
the prince?\\  
  
'Happily Ever After.' But no one can be happy all the  
time.  
  
\\No dear. She died and then the prince eventually  
forgot about her altogether and married someone  
else.\\  
  
Not all tales have happy endings. Not all princes ride  
off into the sunset with the fair maiden at their  
side. We just never hear of those that failed.  
  
***  
  
"How are they?"  
  
"Chang hasn't regained consciousness yet, but the  
other two are awake." The doctor shook his head. "They  
aren't so badly hurt, physically, but both have been  
traumatized. Winner hasn't said anything except that  
they need to contact someone called 'Heero' and warn  
him. He was very hysterical, but the other boy's  
presence seemed to calm him down a bit. It's  
understandable, though, after what happened to his  
eyes."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Flash blinded, under interrogation probably. He may  
recover, but we can't be sure yet."  
  
Lady Une marched down the lengthy hall, eyes  
flickering between the physician and the room where  
the Gundam pilots were. So far, no one knew what had  
occurred between when the ship had gone out of contact  
and Trowa had sounded his distress signal from the  
shuttle they'd been picked up in. There was no trace  
of the ship, or of the other two who had been on board  
her.  
  
"It's actually Bloom that's worrying me most. He's  
been very calm. Too calm. But the story he's been  
telling is crazy. I have a personal theory to explain  
this..."  
  
***  
  
Trowa looked up as the door opened and felt relief at  
the sight of Lady Une, though he did not leave his  
place at Quatre's side, the blond boy's left hand  
cupped in his own.  
  
"Lady Une." He nodded in greeting. She returned the  
gesture sharply, eyes taking in the room's two  
occupants. Wufei, due to his more serious condition,  
was housed in a different room where he could be more  
carefully monitored.  
  
"Trowa. Quatre." Quatre remained silent, but gripped  
his hand more tightly. His eyes weren't tracking. She  
shut the door behind her and looked at Trowa. "Tell me  
what happened." That's one thing he'd always liked  
about her, she knew when to get straight to business.  
  
"It started when Duo began to get curious about a  
children's puzzle we found on the ship..."  
  
***  
  
"...so I set off the distress signal while I was still  
able to and set a course for the nearest colony."  
  
Quatre tried his best to stay calm throughout Trowa's  
recitation, but his control was beginning to take its  
toll. Heero had to be warned of the danger he was in.  
He didn't know why, but something was going to happen  
to him too. He could feel it, but no one besides Trowa  
believed him. Hopefully, Lady Une would realize just  
how serious this was.  
  
"I'll have to look into this Trowa," she was saying  
and made her way to leave.  
  
"Wait!" Quatre spoke for the first time since she  
entered the room. "What about Heero? We have to let  
him know what happened."  
  
"We'll try our best to reach him."  
  
It had to be better than try. "Please, he has to  
know." He shivered, gripping one hand over his heart  
as a thousand disembodied voices whispered, voices of  
those he'd killed, laughing at him once again. He shut  
them out with force of will and the memory of that  
instant of warmth and happiness. But the dark was so  
cold, so terrifying. "You have to warn him." Allah,  
make her see.  
  
She nodded. "I understand. We'll reach him, don't  
worry."  
  
Quatre leaned back and let Trowa hold him. "Thank  
you."  
  
***  
  
"Hallucinogenic drugs?" Lady Une looked at the doctor.  
  
"That's right. From Chang's condition, it looks like  
he fought back. We're hoping that means he wasn't  
drugged and that we'll get a coherent story from him  
when he wakes up. But, with his head injury, even  
then, he may not be able to tell us anything."  
  
She narrowed her eyes. It was a possible explanation.  
She thought back to Trowa's story and concluded that  
it was better than thinking him insane. They would  
have to contact Heero eventually and tell him about  
Duo's death, but it there were more necessary places  
for her people right now. He wouldn't be found until  
he wanted to be. There was no way Quatre's dire  
predictions could come true. It was completely  
understandable that he would think such things given  
what had happened to him. Right now, they had to  
concentrate on finding out the truth.  
  
***  
  
Something was missing, perfection lost by a small  
factor. The flesh under his hand shuddered in torment,  
but that wasn't enough. He turned to his companion as  
his toy went silent except for the occasional whimper.  
He hated it when they got broken so quickly. Stuffy  
occultists were so boring. Still, he had promised and  
he never lied. He needed another, and knew just where  
he wanted to get one. Maybe another one he could keep.  
He knew just who he wanted.  
  
"I want something."  
  
"Anything for you, you know that, love."  
  
Duo smiled. If it wasn't precisely happiness, it was  
as close as one could get in this place. He'd never be  
alone again. "A special present? Would you?" He  
pouted.  
  
"I said so, didn't I?" The other drew closer, reaching  
up a hand to leave a trail of red on the side of his  
cheek. Duo leaned into the caress.  
  
"Yeah, Zechsy, you did."  
  
***  
  
The restaurant was crowded, as were the streets  
outside it. Heero moved untouched amidst the bustle,  
ignoring the heat and the odors emanating from piles  
of garbage being picked through by both animals and  
people. He had found the man hunting him and was now  
going home, but for some reason he'd felt that he  
should come to this place. He'd followed his  
instincts, and they'd led him here.  
  
He entered through one badly hinged door, being  
narrowly missed by a fat man in a cheap suit. The man  
smelled of sweat and other, less savory, scents, just  
like most of the occupants who were seated at rickety  
tables in the crowded room.  
  
Heero took in everything, categorizing and sorting as  
he glanced around with seeming casualness. Something  
shimmered, golden, and caught his eye. In front of an  
old oriental man with a long, messy beard stood a box.  
From its size and design, it was obviously some sort  
of antique puzzle. **Hn,** he thought. **He's here to  
sell it, it's most likely stolen.** But something drew  
him to it, and he had a vague idea that it was why he  
was here.  
  
**Duo would probably like it.** Despite its less than  
honest attainment, the braided idiot would love it. He  
knew that Duo was angry with him, but if he had told  
him where and why he was leaving, he would have been  
followed.   
  
And if something had happened, there was no doubt that  
he wouldn't be able to go on.   
  
It was hard to admit, even to himself, that someone  
had clawed their way that deeply into his heart.  
Perhaps this would be the chance for him to give an  
apology he knew he wouldn't be able to voice aloud.   
  
Heero sat down in the empty chair across from the old  
man. He received a smile in return, a grin of missing  
and blackened teeth. One long finger nailed digit  
tapped the box almost lovingly.  
  
A voice wheezed out at him. "What is your pleasure,  
sir?"  
  
~BEGINNING  
  
  
To everyone who has been following this story. Thank you   
so much. I hope you enjoyed this little tale which  
assaulted me for months and forced me to write something  
I was sure would never make from my head to paper.  
  
I'd like to hear from you, I really would. Comments and   
suggestions especially, though if you just feel like saying  
'hey' I'm all for that too. This is the longest thing I've  
ever attempted, let alone finished, and I'd like to improve  
for the next story I write.  
  
So, hope you all have a wonderful December... maybe I will  
continue some of my other stories once Xmas hols roll around.  
  
Hugs,  
Carole 


End file.
